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SKETCH 

OF  THE 

DENOMIiS^ATIONS 

OF  THE 

CHRISTIAN  WORLD  ; 

ACCOMPANIED    "WITH 

A  PERSUASIVE  TO  RELIGIOUS  MODERATION. 

To  which  is  prefixed  an  Account  of 

Atheism^  Deism^  Theophilanthropism^  Jur 
daisMy  Mahometanism  and  Christianity. 

ADAPTED  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIMES. 

By  JOHN  EVANS,  A.  M. 
FIRST  BOSTON, 

FROM  THE  NINTH  LONDON  KDITION, 

With  Corrections  and  Improvements, 


Endeavouring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace- 

PAUL. 

BOSTON: 
PRINTED  BY  E.  C.  REALS,  FOR  R.  LOTHIAN,  JUN, 

NO,  75,  STATE-STREET, 

1807t 


PREFACE. 

THAT  the  Author  is  gratified  by  the 
repeated  editions  of  this  little  work,  on 
which  he  has  bestowed  many  a  laborious 
hour,  it  would  be  affectation  in  him  to 
deny — ana  ne  flatters  himself  that  the  cir- 
culation of  Twenty-five  Thousand  copies, 
(the  number  which  has  issued  from  the 
press)  must  contribute  in  some  degree  to 
extend  the  empire  of  religious  knowledge 
and  Christian  charity.  In  the  present  im- 
pression he  has  attended  carefully  to  re- 
cent communications,  and  where  indivi- 
duals had  sent  confused  and  contradictory 
accounts  of  their  own  party,  he  has  endea- 
voured to  adjust  their  claims  with  impar- 


4  PREFACE* 

tiality.  To  obtain  in  all  instances  accurate 
information,  is  a  task  of  almost  insuperable 
difficulty.  In  many  cases  prejudice,  pas- 
sion and  interest,  have  multiplied  religious 
differences  to  a  degree,  which  excites  both 
his  grief  and  astonishment.  But  he  is  per- 
suaded that  could  the  professors  of  Chris- 
tianity be  once  brought  to  listen  candidly 
to  each  other's  opinions — they  would 
hot  only  be  the  less  likely  to  be  led  away 
by  the  clamours  of  bigotry,  but  they 
would  become  more  thoroughly  disposed 
to  keep  the  unify  of  fhc  spirit  in  the  bond 
9 f  peace — 

Fountain  of  Being  !  teach  them  to  devote 
To  thee  each  purpose,  action,  word  and  thought  ; 
Tliy  grace  their  hope — thy  loue  their  only  boast, 
Be  all  distinctions  in—the  Christian  lost, 

Hannah  More. 

The  Author  is  pleased  to  find,  that  the 
Biographical  Illustrations  of  the  Frontis- 
piece, prove  acceptable  to  young  readers, 
who  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  better  ac- 
quainted with    the  principal   characters. 


PREFACE.  a 

than  with  the  leading  opinions  of  the  re- 
ligious community.  And  some  informa- 
tion however  short,  was  thought  to  be  in* 
teresting — of  persons,  who  on  account  of 
their  talents,  learning  and  piety,  have  in 
a  manner,  given  laws  to  the  several  dis- 
tricts of  Christendom.  Nor  will  it  be  im- 
proper just  to  mention,  that  the  Reca- 
pitulatory  Table  at  the  end  of  the  work, 
by  being  familiarised  to  the  young  mind 
has  been  found  conducive  to  improve-? 
ment. 

From  a  friend  who  has  some  time  ago 
left  Paris,  the  Author  learns  that  the 
SJ<:etch  is  translated  into  the  French  and 
German  languages,  under  the  superinten- 
dence of  Messrs.  Vos  and  Co.  celebrated 
booksellers  at  Leipsic.  May  its  increasing 
circulation  prove  the  means  of  diffusing  a 
spirit  of  free  enquiry — and  of  promoting 
the  exercise  of  true  liberality.  '^  There  is 
a  somewhat^'^  says  that  able  Defender  of 


*  JPREFACE. 

Revealed  Religion,  the  present  Bishop  of 
ILandafF, ''  in  our  common  faith,  in  which 
ALL  are  agreed,  and  that  somewhat  is  in  my 
opinion  a  circumstance  of  such  ineffable 
importance,  that  I  will  never  refuse  the 
right  hand  of  fellowships  to  him  who  ac- 
knowledges its  truth — never  think  or 
speak  of  him  with  disrespect,  nor  with  true 
Pharisaical  pride,  esteem  myself  to  be 
more  orthodox,  more  acceptable  to  my 
Redeemer  than  he  is,  and  that  somewhat  is 
Eternal  Life^  the  gift  of  God  through 
Jesus  Christ  !'* 

And  Mr.  Jay  of  Bath,  in  his  excellent 
Sermons,  remarks  that  "  the  readiest  way 
in  the  world  to  thin  heaven,  and  replenish 
the  regions  of  hell,  is  to  call  in  the  spirit  of 
ligotry.  This  will  immediately  arraign 
and  condemn,  and  execute  all  that  do  not 
bow  down  and  worship  the  image  of  our 
idolatory.  Possessing  exclusive  preroga- 
tives ;    it    rejects    every    other    claim — 


PREFACE,  .y 

♦<  Stand  by,  I  am  sounder  than  thou.  The 
temple  of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord^ 
the  temple  of  the  Lord  are  we  !"  How 
many  of  the  dead  has  this  intolerance  sen- 
fenced  to  eternal  misery,  who  will  shine 
like  stars  in  the  kingdom  of  onr  Father  ! — 
how  many  living  characters  do^s  it  not  re- 
probate as  enemies  to  the  cross  of  Christy 
who  are  placing  in  it  all  their  glory !  No 
wonder,  if  under  the  influence  of  this  con^ 
suming  zeal,  we  form  lessening  views  of 
the  number  of  the  saved.  I  only  am  leff-^ 
yes^  they  a^refew  indeed  if  none  belong  to 
them,  who  do  not  belong  to  your  party — 
that  do  not  see  with  your  eyes — that  do 
not  believe  election  with  you,  or  universal 
redemption  with  you — that  do  not  worship 
under  a  steeple  with  you,  or  in  a  meeting 
with  you — that  are  not  dipped  w^ith  you, 
or  sprinkled  with  you  !  But  hereafter  we 
shall  find  that  the  righteous  were  not  so 
circumscribed  ;  when  we  shall  see — many 
<oming  from  the  east-i   and  from  the   ive^f^' 


1»  PREFACE. 

fro7n  the  norths  and  from  the  souths  to  sit 
down  with  Abraham^  Isaac^  and  Jacobs  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  .^"  Were  these  truly 
evangelical  sentiments  more  prevalent 
^mong  professors  of  every  description,  the 
ravages  of  infidelity  would  cease — Christ- 
ians themselves  become  more  united,  and 
rapid  advances  vy^ould  be  thus  making 
towards  their  moral  and  religious  improve* 
ment. 

In  this  imperfect  state  to  see  just  alike, 
with  respect  to  the  doctrines  of  revelation, 
is  impossible ;  though  surely  it  is  in  the 
powder  of  every  individual,  acknowledging 
the  divinity  of  the  Saviour's  mission,  to 
cherish  the  kind  and  charitable  disposition, 
for  which  he  was  eminently  distinguished. 
Indeed,  by  the  cultivation  of  this  temper 
alone,  we  shall  most  effectually  diffuse  the 
triumphs  of  genuine  Christianity. 

But  the  author  having  already  fully 
atated  ihe  origin,  nature,  and  design  of 


PREFACE.  6 

this  little  publication  in  his  Explanatory 
Dedication^  will  only  add — this  animating 
consideration — that  notwithstanding  the 
jarrings  and  contentions  of  parties,  for 
their  several  opinions  and  modes  of  wor- 
ship, which  the  subsequent  pages  attempt 
to  pourtray,  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ 
undebased  by  the  prejudices,  and  uncon- 
trouled  by  the  passions  of  frail  humanity, 
continues  to  operate  like  the  great  powers 
of  nature,  with  a  silent  but  irresistible  en- 
ergy for  the  renovation  of  mankind. 


THE 

FRONTISPIECE 

SIOGRAPHICALLY  ILLUSTRATED. 

JOHN  WICKLIFFE  was  born  in  the  North 
of  England  about  the  year  1324,  and  educated  at 
Oxford.  He  was  the  first  person  in  this  country 
who  openly  condemned  the  errors  and  corrupt 
tions  of  Popery.  The  Monks  at  the  University 
excited  his  indignation  ;  but  the  Pope  taking 
their  part  against  him,  he  was  obliged  to  give 
way  and  withdraw  into  the  country.  His 
place  of  retirement  was  Lutterworth  in  Leices- 
tershire, of  which  living  he  had  for  some  time 
been  in  possession,  and  where  part  of  his  pulpit 
may  be  seen  standing  at  this  day.  Here  he  con- 
tinued his  opposition  to  the  Romish  Church  with 
equal  steadiness  ;  but  had  he  not  been  patroniz- 
ed by  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  he  must  have 
fallen  a  victim  to  his  fidelity.  He  died  peace- 
ably in  his  bed  at  Lutterworth,  in  1384,  leaving 
behtiid  him  many   followers.      The    chief  of  his 


12 

works  is  entitled  Trialogus,  being  a  dialogue 
with  three  speakers — Truth,  a  Lie,  and  Wisdom! 
He  wrote  several  things  both  in  Latin  and 
English,  but  this  is  almost  the  only  work  which 
was  printed.  Agreeable  to  a  decree  of  the 
Council  of  Constance,  held  in  1416,  his  bones 
were  dug  up  and  burnt,  his  books  forbidden,  aud 
his  memory  branded-  with  the  inost  opprobrious 
heresy.  But  these  empty  fulminations  served 
only  to  promote  th^  glorious  cause  which 
WicklifFe  espoused  ;  and  hence  he  has  obtained 
that  honourable  title,  the  Morning  star  of  the 
Reformation!  On  this  account  it  is,  that  his 
head  stands  j^rst  among  the  Potraits  prefixed  to 
this  publication. 

Martin  Luther,  born  1483,  at  Isleben,  a 
town  of  Saxony,  in  Germany.  After  passing 
through  the  usual  stages  of  education  at  one  of 
their  Universities,  he  entered  the  order  of  the 
Augustinian  Monks.  His  learning  was  consid- 
erable, and  his  spirit  unconquerable.  Indul- 
gencies  being  sold  by  Leo  the  Xth  in  order  to  ob- 
tain money  for  the  building  of  St.  Peter's  at 
Rome,  Luther  set  his  face  against  a  measure  so 
inimical  to  the  interests  of  virtue  and  piety.  An 
alarm  therefore  being  sounded— the  Romish 
Church  was  shaken  to  its  foundation,  and  these 
convulsive  throes  terminated  in  the  REFORMA- 
TION.    But  like  Wickliffe  the  Reformer   would 


13 

have  been  frustrated  in  his  attempt,  had  not  some 
of  the  German  Princes  (particularly  Frederick  of 
Saxony)  taken  him  under  their  protection.  After 
having  written  many  books,  and  exerted  himself  on 
various  occasions  with  a  wonderful  intrepidity,  Lu- 
ther died  in  the  year  1546,  lamented  by  his  follow- 
ers^ and  revered  by  the  Protestant  world.  His  tem- 
per, it  must  be  confessed,  was  violent,  but  the 
times  seem  to  have  required  such  a  disposition. 
He,4ndeed,  appears  to  have  been  raised  up  by 
Providence  for  that  stupendous  work  which  he 
accomplished. 

John  Calvin  was  born  at  No3^on,  in  Picardy, 
1509 ;  he  received  his  education  at  Paris  and 
other  places  where  different  branches  of  literature 
were  taught  with  celebrity.  Discovering  early 
marks  of  piety,  his  father  designed  him  for  the 
church,  and  accordingly  he  was  soon  presented 
to  a  living  near  Noyon,  the  place  of  his  nativity. 
He,  however^  conceiving  a  dislike  to  the  corrup- 
tions  of  Popery,  quitted  the  Church,  and  turned 
his  attention  to  the  law.  Visiting  Paris,  he  made 
himself  known  to  those  who  had  privately  em- 
braced the  Reformation.  But  a  persecution  aris- 
ing against  the  Reformers,  he  went  to  Basil, 
where  he  published  his  famous  work.  Institu- 
tions of  the  Christian  Religion,  which  spread 
abroad  his  fame,  though,  it  is  said,  he  v/as  then 
desirous  of  living  in  obscurity.  Not  long  after 
B 


this  he  became  Minister  aud  Professor  of  Di- 
vinity at  Geneva.  In  this  department  he  acquit- 
ted himself  with  ability,  and  was  indefatigable 
in  promoting  the  Reformation.  He  died  in  the 
year  1564,  continuing  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
his  station  to  the  last,  with  his  usual  fidelity. 
However  great  and  even  good  he  may  be  pro- 
nounced by  his  followers,  who  are  numerous,  his 
burning  Servetus,  a  Spanish  Physician,  for  writing 
against  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  leaves  a  stain 
upon  his  memor}^ 

Richard  Baxter,  was  born  at  Rowton,  fff 

Shropshire,  1615,  and  falling  into  the  hands  of  ig- 
norant schoolmasters,  he  enjoyed  not  the  advan- 
tage of  a  regular  education.  Taking  orders  of 
the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  he  became  Minister  of 
Kidderminster,  where  an  uncommon  degree  of 
success  attended  his  ministry,  but  the  Civil  Wars 
which  broke  out  soon  after  his  settlement  at  this 
place,  sadly  interrupted  his  labours.  Upon  the 
restoration  of  Charles  the  Second,  he  refused  the 
Bishopric  of  Worcester,  asking,  indeed,  for  no 
favour  but  that  of  remaining  at  his  beloved  Kid- 
derminster, which  was  denied  him.  Upon  the 
fatal  Bartholomew  act,  he  was  silenced,  with  a 
large  number  of  the  Clergy,  for  refusing  to  con- 
form on  certain  conditions  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land*    From  this  period,  to  the  time  of  his  decease. 


15 


he  suffered  the  most  vexatious  persecutious,  on 
account  of  his  religious  opinions,  with  a  firm- 
ness which  did  honour  to  his  piety.  He  was 
even  tried  before  that  barbarian  JefferieSy  who 
condemned  him  to  a  long  and  tedious  imprison- 
ment. His  publications  were  astonishingly  nu- 
merous, for  his  Practical  Works  make  four  vo- 
lumes in  folio.  Bishop  Burnet  says,  that  ^^  he 
was  his  whole  life  long  a. man  of  great  zeal  and 
much  simplicity.'' 

WiLLlAN  Penn  was  born  in  London,  1644; 
he  was  the  son  of  Admiral  Penn,  who  was  great- 
ly offended  with  him  for  joining  the  Quakers  ; 
but,  previous  to  his  death,  he  became  recon- 
ciled to  him.  He  suffered  much  on  account 
of  his  religious  sentiments,  but  adhered  to 
them  with/Stedfastness,  His  famous  book.  No 
CrosSf  No  Croxv7iy  was  written  by  him  during 
his  confinement  in  the  Tower  of  London.  He 
lived  much  of  his  time  in  Sussex,  and  acompani- 
ed  George  Fox  and  Robert  Barclay,  on  a  mission 
to  Holland  and  Germany.  In  1681,  Charles  the- 
Second,  in  lieu  of  arrears  due  to  his  Father,  grant- 
ed him  a  province  in  North  America,  since  called 
after  him  Pennsylvania.  Thither  he  went,  and 
having  made  the  necessary  improvements,  gave 
just  and  wise  laws  to  his  new  settlement.  To  his 
honour  be  it  particularly  noticed,  that  in  his  iegis- 
lative  code,  the  sacred  rights  of  conscience    were 


16 


left  free  and  unfettered.  In  1718,  he  died  near 
Beaconsfield  of  a  gradual  decay,  occasioned  by 
apoplectic  fits.  His  works  are  comprised  in  six 
volunDCs  octavo^  and  are  in  high  esteem  with  the 
society  to  which  he  belonged  ;  the  first  volume 
contains  his  Biography. 

George  Whitfield  (founder  of  the.  Calvinist 
Methodists)  was  born,  1714,  at  Glocester,  where 
he  received  the  usual  school  education,  and  then 
became  Servitor  of  Pembroke  College,  Oxford, 
Having  been  ordained  at  the  age  of  21,  he  applied 
indefatigably  to  the  duties  of  the  ministry.  The 
churches  being  shut  against  him,  he  preached  to 
immense  multitudes  in  the  open  fields  ;  for  which 
he  was  fitted  by  his  powerful  elocution.  He  how- 
ever built  two  large  places  of  worship  in  the  me- 
tropolis for  himself  and  followers,  th^Jfabernacle^ 
Moorfields,  and  the  Chapel,  Tottenham  Court 
Road.  Such  was  his  zeal  and  activity,  that  he 
several  times  visited  the  continent  of  America, 
where  he  closed  his  eyes  in  the  year  1770,  not 
far  from  Boston,  in  New  England.  The  com- 
plaint of  which  he  died  was  an  asthma,  brought 
on  by  excessive  preaching.  His  works,  in  several 
octavo  volumes,  are  made  up  of  sermons  and  let- 
ters, but  it  was  not  from  the  press,  but  from  the 
pulpit,  that  this  wonderful  man  shone  ;  thence  he 
made  on  his  numerous  followers  extraordinary  im- 
pressions. 


17 

John  Wesley  (founder  of  the  Arminian 
Methodists)  was  born  at  Epworth,  1703,  educated 
at  the  charter-house,  and  m  1716  elected  to 
Christ  Church,  Oxford.  He  however,  m  1726, 
was  chosen  fellow  of  Lincoln  College  where  the 
first  methodist  society  was  instituted.  Like  his 
associate,  Mr.  Whitfield,  being  excluded  the 
churches,  he  preached  in  the  open  air,  and  visited 
America,  as  well  as  the  West  India  Islands, 
where  also  he  has  many  followers.  He  built  a 
handsome  Chapel  in  the  City  Road,  opposite  to 
Bunhill  Fields  ;  and  in  the  ground  adjoining  to 
the  Chapel  he  lies  interred  under  a  neat  tomb, 
with  an  inscription  of  some  length,  to  his  memory. 
He  died  at  a  very  advanced  age,  in  1791,  after  a 
short  illness  deeply  regretted  by  his  extensive 
connections.  His  works  are  said  to  amount  to 
thirty-two  Octavo  volumes,  but  it  may  be  just 
mentioned  that  some  of  these  are  compilations, 
which  he  thought  were  favourable  to  the  diffusion 
of  knowledge  among  mankind. 

Elhanan  Winchester  (a  popular  preacher 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  universal  restoration)  was 
born  at  Brooklyn,  Massachusetts,  North  America, 
1761,  but  did  not  enjoy  the  advantages  of  an 
academical  education.  He  was  first  of  all  a  min- 
ister among  the  Calvinistic  Baptists,  by  whon» 
he  was  caressed,  till  he  embraced  the  universal 
B2 


doctrine,  when  he  stood  as  it  were  alone,  and 
preached  it  with  astonishing  success.  He  came 
over  to  England  about  the  year  1787,  where  he 
preached  a  Series  of  lectures  on  the  Prophecies 
remaining  to  be  fulfilled,  which  he  afterwards 
published.  This  indeed,  and  his  Dialogues  on 
Resiorationy  are  his  principal  publications.  In  the 
year  1794  he  quitted  England,  where  he  had 
laboured  with  assiduity  and  left  behind  him  a  nu- 
merous congregation  meeting  in  Parliament-court 
Bishopsgate  Street  which  is  still  in  a  flourishing 
condition.  He  died  at  Hartford,  in  New  England 
.1797,  where  suitable  tokens  of  respect  were  paid 
to  his  memory* 


PREFATORY  DEDICATION"^ 

TO  THE  FIFTH  EDITION. 

TO 

JOHN  BRENT,  Esq.  Blackheath. 

DEAR  SIR, 
AS  a  memorial  of  your  friendship  and  patron- 
age, I  take  the  liberty  of  dedicating  to  you,  this 
Sketch  of  the  Denominations  of  the  Christian 
World.  When  its  first  outlines  were  laid  before 
you,  you  were  pleased  not  only  to  sanction  them 
with  your  approbation,  but  also  to  suggest  many 
improvements.  Toother  respectable  friends, both 
among  the   clergy  and    laity.       I   profess   myself 


*  The  author  and  proprietor  of  the  Sketchy  return  thanks  to 
the  Re-v.  Erasmus  Middleton^  for  the  readiness  with  which  lie 
consented  to  their  taking  hkenesses  for  the  Frontispiece,  from 
his  Biographica  E'vangelka^  a  work  of  information,  and  wejl 
known  to  th$  public. 


under  similar  obligations;  and  am  here  proud  of 
thus  publicly  rendering  them  my  grateful  ac*- 
knovvledgments. 

With  respect  to  the  present  edition,  now  call- 
ed for  by  an  indulgent  public,  it  has  (in  compli- 
ance with  the  request  of  most  of  my  readers) 
received  considerable  additions  and  improvements. 
Articls  of  some  length  are  newly  inserted,  such 
as  the  TheophilantropistSy  Lutherans^  New 
Methodist-Connection  J  Jumpers^  &c. ;  a  few  of 
the  old  ones  have  been  re-written,  such  as  the 
Baptists,  Methodists,  Universalists,  &c. :  and 
to  the  other  denominations,  particularly  the 
Q,uakers  and  Millenarians,  there  have  been  ac- 
cessions of  matter,  either  explanatory  of  their 
tenets,  or  illustrative  of  their  history.  Notwith- 
standing my  special  aim  at  accuracy,  yet  in  so 
miscellaneous  a  publication,  it  is  almost  impossi- 
ble not  to  have  fallen  into  mistakes.  It  is,  how- 
ever, sincerely  hoped  that  they  may  prove  of  a 
trivial  nature  ;  for  I  have  no  interest  to  promote 
but  that  of  truth,  and  truth  does  not  require  that 
the  sentiments  of  any  one  man,  or  of  any  oae 
body  of  men,  should  be  misrepresented. 


21 

It  may,  nevertheless,  be  proper.  Sir,  through 
the  medium  of  this  address,  again  to  remind 
the  reader,  that  this  Account  of  the  Christian 
World  (though  now  so  much  enlarged)  ^  still 
professedly  a  Sketch ;  and  that  therefore  an  elab- 
orate delineation  must  not  be  expected.  It  is 
mtended,  by  its  brevity,  for  the  rising  genera- 
tion ;  more  especially  for  the  youth  under  my 
tuition,  and  for  the  young  people  who  attend  my 
public  ministry.  Accordingly,  in  drawing  up  the 
work,  I  never  imagined  myself  bound,  like  the 
ecclesiastical  historian,  to  record  every  fact  con- 
nected with  the  rise  and  progress  of  sects,  or  to 
pourtray  minutely  the  shades  of  difference  by 
which  they  are  distinguished.  I  rather  consider- 
ed myself  as  occupying  the  province  of  the  natu- 
ral historian,  who  when  classing  togethei^he  dif; 
ferent  kinds  of  the  human  race,  attempts  not  to 
delineate  every  variation  of  feature,  but  holds  up 
those  more  prominent  traits  of  physiognomy, 
which  are  impressed  on  mankind  throughout  the 
several  regions  of  the  globe  ! 

The  purport  of  this  little  volume.  Sir,  is  to  in- 
spire religious  denominations  with  more  respectful 


2Q 

sentiments  of  each  other,  and  to  lead  them  ^ 
study  the  benevolent  ends,  for  which  the  Gosp^ 
of  Jesus  Christ  was  promulgated.  Being  a  firm 
believer  in  the  truth,  and  a  fervent  admirer  of  the 
excellence  of  the  Christian  religion,  I  would  fain 
remove  any  one  obstacle  which  impedes  its  pro- 
gress, or  diminishes  its  efficacy,  where  it  is  al- 
ready known.  Should,  therefore,  this  manual 
bring  only  two  Christians  of  different  denomi- 
nations to  a  more  just  knowledge  of  each 
other's  tenets,  and  prove  the  means  of  in- 
clining them  the  more  cheerfully  to  exercise  to- 
wards one  another,  that  charity  which  thinketh 
no  evily  it  will  afford  me  more  real  satisfaction 
than  the  publication  of  a  work  of  the  most 
pompous  nature.  It  is  observed  by  the  late  cele- 
brated Edmund  Burke,  who  possessed  no  incon- 
siderable knowledge  of  human  nature,  that  "  In 
all  persuasions,  the  bigots  are  persecutors ;  the 
men  of  a  cool  and  reasonable  piety,  are  favourers 
of  toleration;  because  bigots  not  taking  the 
pains  to  be  acquainted  with  the  grounds  of  their 
adversaries^  tenets,  conceive  them  to  be  so  ab- 
surd and  monsterous,  that  no  man  of  sense  can 


23 

give  into  them  in  good  earnest.  For  which 
reason,  they  are  convinced  that  some  oblique 
bad  motive  induces  them  to  pretend  to  the  belief 
of  such  doctrines,  and  to  the  maintaining  them 
with  obstinacy.  This  is  a  very  general  prin- 
ciple in  all  religious  differences,  and  it  is  the 
corner-stone  of  all  PERSECUTION.  The  Em- 
peror Charles  the  6th,  also,  we  are  told,  retired 
at  the  close  of  life  to  a  monastery,  and  there, 
says  Dr.  Robertson,  *^  he  was  particularly  cu- 
rious with  regard  to  the  construction  of  clocks 
and  watches,  and  having  found,  after  repeated 
trials,  that  he  could  not  bring  any  txvo  of  them 
to  go  exactly  alike^  he  reflected,  it  is  said,  with 
a  mixture  of  surprise  as  well  as  regret,  on  his 
own  folly y  in  having  bestowed  so  much  time  and 
labour,  in  the  more  vain  attempt  of  bringing 
mankind  to  a  precise  uniformity  of  sentiment 
concerning  the  intricate  and  mysterious  doctrines 
of  religion  !'* 

The  infamous  falsehoods.  Sir,  w^hich  have  been 
propagated  by  sects  concerning  one  another^s 
tenets,  in  almost  every  age  of  the  church,  are 
incompatible  with  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest — 


24 

o?i  earth  peace — good  will  towards  men.  No- 
thing tends  more  to  arrest  the  progress  of  true 
religion,  than  the  implacable  spirit  of  bigotry. 
Its  ignorance  and  its  folly  are  written  in  cha- 
racters of  blood.  Wollaston,  the  learned  au- 
thor of  the  Religion  of  Nature  Delineated, 
once  asked  a  bigot  ^^  how  many  sects  he  thought 
there  might  be  in  the  world  ?"  *'  Why"  says 
he,  ^^  I  can  make  no  judgment — I  never  con- 
Siid^red  the  question.'^  <^  Do  you  think,"  said 
WoUaston,  '^ there  may  be  a  hundred?"  <^  O, 
yes,  at  least,"  cried  the  bigot,  ^^  Why  then," 
repMed  the  philosopher,  *^  it  is  ninety-nine  to 
one  that  you  are  in  the  wrong  /"  This  anecdote 
is  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  generating  that 
modesty  of  temper,  which  forms  one  of  the  love- 
liest ornaments  of  Christianity,  William  Penn 
has,  in  a  letter  to  Archbishop  Tillotson,  these 
memorable  words — "  I  abhor  two  principles  in 
religion,  and  pity  them  that  own  them.  The 
first  is  obedience  upon  authority,  without  con- 
viction ;  and  the  other,  destroying  them  that 
differ  from  me,  for  God's  sake.  Such  a  religion 
is  without  judgment  though  not  without  truth— 


25 

tmion  is  best  if  right — else  charity.^^      And   as  . 
Hooker  said — ^^  The    time    will  come,   when  a 
few  w^ords  spoken  with  meekness   and   humility, 
and  love^  shall  be  more  acceptable  than   volumes 
of  controversy,  which    commonly   destroy  CHA- 
RITY, the   very  best  part  of  TRUE    RELIGION.'* 
Of  the  terms  Prejudice,  Bigotry,  Candour,   and 
Liberality,  Dr.  Aikin,  in  his  Letters    to  his  Son^ 
gives  this  happy  exemplification.      ^^  When  Jesus 
preached.  Prejudice  cried.  Can  any  good  thing 
come     out  of  Nazareth  ? — Crucify^    crucify 
him  !  exclaimed   BiGOTRY. — Why^  what    evil 
hath  he  done  ?  remonstrated  CandouH.     And 
Liberality  drew  from  his   words   this   infer- 
ence— In    every   nation,  he   that  feareth   God, 
and  worketk   righteousness,   is  accepted  with 
him.'*^ 

Upon  my  first  sitting  down.  Sir,  to  this  work, 
a  closer  inspection  of  the  discordant  materials, 
of  which  the  Christian  world  stands  composed, 
almost  deterred  me  from  proceeding  to  its  exe- 
cution. ^  I,  however,  relied  on  the  candour  of 
the  public,  and  was  not  disappointed.  The  most 
c 


20 

respectable   literary  journals   of  the   day,   were 
pleased  to  sanction  my  attempt  with  their  appro- 
bation.    Socrates  used  to  say,  that  the  statuary 
found   his   figure  in  the   block   of  marble,    and 
striking  off  with  his  chissel  the  superfluous   parts, 
the  form  presented  itself  gradually  to  view  !     In 
imitatiot  of  the  sculptor,  have  I  here  endeavoured 
to  divest  the  several  denominations  of  the  extra- 
neous matter  which  had  been  attached  to   them, 
either   through   ignorance     or    malignity  ;    thus 
holding  them  up  to  the  eye  of  my  reader  in  their 
just  and  regular  proportions  !     Mine,   therefore, 
has  been  an  humble,  though   laborious   province  ; 
but  the  concurrence  expressed  by   the    wise    and 
good,  even  from   among  the  most    opposite  sects, 
has  proved  an  abundant   reward.      To   use    the 
words  of  Gilbert  West,  a   most   worthy    member 
of  the    church  of     England — Blessed    are    the 
peace-makers,  for    they    shall  be     called    the 
children    of  God.        An     appellation    infinitely 
.more    honourable   than    that   of  pastor,    bishop, 
j^rchbishop,  patriarch,    cardinal,    or   pope  ;    and 
attended  with  a  recompence  infinitely   surpassing 


a? 

the  richest  revenues  of  the  highest  ecclesiastical 
dignity."  Cyprian,  likewise  a  pious  father  of  the 
church,  ranks  a  contentious  Christian  among 
the  twelve  absurdities,  to  which  the  life  of  man 
is  exposed. 

Indeed,  Sir,  the  flattering  reception  of  this 
little  work,  by  DENOMINATIONS  of  every  de* 
scription,  cannot  fail  of  affording  me  satisfac- 
tion. This  circumstance,  in  conjunction  with 
the  extent  of  its  circulation,  {many  thousand 
copies  having  been  sold)  has  raised  pleasing  sen- 
sations in  my  breast.  For  it  inclines  me  to  hope, 
that  the  execrable  spirit  of  bigotry  is  abating 
among  all  parties,  and  that  the  professors  of 
Jesus  are  becoming  more  intent  on  the  great 
essentials  of  Christianity.  The  probationary  con- 
dition in  which  we  are  placed,  powerfully  incul- 
cates such  a  conduct.  It  was  a  saying  of  the 
pious  Richard  Baxter,  recorded  by  himself,  in  the 
History  of  his  own  Times — ^^  While  we  wran- 
gle  here  in  the  dark,  we  are  dying  and  passing 
to  that  world  which  will  decide  all  our  contro- 
versies, and  the  safest  passage  thither  is  by 
peaceable  holiness.^^ 


28 

Hence  jarring  sectaries  may  learn 

Their  real  interest  to  discern, 

Tliat  brother  should  not  war  with  brother. 

And  worry  and  devour  each  other  ; 

Shunning  division  here  below, 

That  each  in  charity  may  grow, 

Till  join'd  in  Christian  fellowship  and  love, 

The  church  on  earth  shall  meet  the  church  aboTe  ! 

Cowr-ER.* 

Since  the  first  appearance  of  the  Sketchy  lei- 
sure. Sir  has  h^tn  found^,  to  lay  before  the  pub- 
lic the  SEaUEL,  being  the  second  and  concluding 
part  of  this  work.  There  it  is  largely  shewn, 
both  in  a  preliminary  Essay,  and  in  the  numerous 
Extracts,  that  moderation  is  the  genuine  off- 
spring of  Christianity,  To  avoid  the  imputation 
of  partiality,  the  authorities  amounting  in  num- 
ber to  near  one  hundred^  are  taken  from  divines 

of  the   Church  of   England of    the     Kirk    of 

Scotland,    and  from  among  the  Protestant  Dis- 
senters.       The  drawing  up  of  this  latter  work, 

*  The  author  embraces  this  opportunity  of  recommending 
Exercises  of  Piety  for  the  Use  of  Enlightened  and  Virtuous  Chris" 
^iansy  by  G.  J.  Zolikofre  ;  translated  from  the  French  editioi;, 
by  the  Reu.  James  Mannlrg^  of  Exeter.  The  work,  to  which 
the  translator  has  done  justice,  may  be  pronounced  a  valuable 
present  to  the  rising  generation.  The  Sermons  of  tins  foreign 
JOlvine,  also  lately  published  in  our  laugnage,  are  excellent  ia 
their  kind.    They  are  at  onoe  rational  and  rmpi-essive. 


29 

(a  second  edition  of  which  is  just  puMished)  was 
With  me  a  favourite  object,  and  no  small  paina 
were  bestowed  upon  it.  The  Sketch  and  Sequel 
complete  my  design  on  the  subject.  May  the 
effort  be  attended  with  a  divine  blessing  ! 

I  am,  however,  aware  Sir,  that  for  the  same 
reason  that  the  passionate  charge  the  mild  and 
unassuming  with  a  want  of  spirit^  zealots  are 
reproaching  the  advocates  of  moderation  with  a 
propensity  to  indifference.  But  this  is  an  ini- 
quitous charge,  since  it  is  known,  that  liberal 
characters  have  been  distinguished  for  their  zeal^ 
In  support  of  what  appeared  to  them  to  be  the 
interests  of  truth.  That  the  candid  have  fallen 
into  lukewarmness,  and  that  the  zealous  have 
been  betraj^ed  into  persecution  cannot  be  de- 
nied ;  but  surely  no  man  in  his  senses,  will,  on 
that  account,  seriously  maintain  that  candour,  and 
indifference^  zeal  and  persecution^  are  insepa- 
rably connected.  Against  a  spirit  of  indifference, 
I  here  solemnly  protest,  nor  indeed  will  any 
person  accuse  me  of  such  an  intenti-on,  who 
has  attentively  read  my  Address  to  the  General 
Baptists  on  the  Revival  of  Religion  amongst 
C2 


30 

them.  While  with  our  blessed  Saviour,  Chris- 
tians are  exhorted  to  love  one  another  :  so  on  the 
other  hand  with  the  apostle  Paul,  are  they  loudly 
called  upon  to  contend  earnestly  (but  not  in- 
temperately) /or  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints. 

Dr.  Prideaux  (a  learned  clergyman  of  th$ 
church  of  England)  in  his  Life  of  Mahomet, 
speaking  of  the  dissentions  of  the  sixth  century, 
remarks — '^  Christians  having  drawn  the  ab- 
strusest  niceties  into  controversy,  did  thereby  so 
destroy  peace,  love,  and  charity  among  them- 
selves, that  they  lost  the  whole  substance  of  re* 
ligion,  and  in  a  manner  drove  Christianity  quite 
out  of  the  world ;  so  that  the  Saracens,  taking 
advantage  of  the  weakness  of  power  and  distrac- 
tions of  councils,  which  those  divisions  had 
caused,  soon  over-run  with  terrible  devastation, 
all  the  Eastern  provinces  of  the  Roman  empire  ; 
turned  every  where  their  churches  into  mosques, 
and  forced  on  them  the  abominable  imposture  of 
Mahometanism.'*  From  this  lamentable  fact. 
Sir,  Christians  ought  to  learn  an  instructive  les- 
§on»    In  an  age  like  the  present^  when  Atheists 


31 

and  Deists  are  both  in  this  country  and  upon  the 
Continent^  assailing  on  every  side  the  venerable 
fabric  of  our  religion,  its  professors  ceasing  to 
4ay  an  undue  stress  on  their  private  differences 
of  opinion,  should  concentrate  their  scattered 
forces,  and  inspired  with  kindness  towards  each 
other,  oppose   with  one  heart  and  with  one  soulj 

the  COMMON   ENEMY  ! 

The  biographer  of  Bishop  Burnet  tells  us,  that 
when  making  his  Tour  on  the  Continent,  this 
great  and  good  prelate  ^^  there  became  acquaint- 
ed with  the  leading  men  of  the  different  persua- 
sions tolerated  in  that  country,  particularly  Calvi- 
jiists,  Arminians,  Lutherans,  Baptists,  Brownists, 
Papists,  and  Unitarians,  amongst  each  of  ivhick, 
he  used  frequently  to  declare,  he  met  with  men  of 
such  unfeigned  piety  and  virtue yXh^t  he  becam^e 
fixed  in  a  strong  principle  of  universal  charityj* 
Would  to  God  !  that  an  example  in  every  respect 
so  illustrious,  were  devoutly  imitated  by  the  pro- 
fessors of  Christianity.  The  good  effects  of 
such  a  conduct  w^ould  be  instantaneously  dis- 
cerned. The  sincere  and  hearty  co-operation  of 
Christians  ^of  every  denomination,  in   the  great 


32 

cause  of  virtue  and  piety^  would  essentially  pro- 
mote the  best  interests  of  mankind. 

Nor  will  you,  my  dear  sir,  blame  me  for  thus 
venturing  publicly  to  express  the  gratification  I 
feel  in  the  publication  of  both  Sketch  and 
Sequel  at  Philadelphia  in  America.  This  exten- 
sion of  their  sphere  of  usefulness  will,  I  trust, 
prove  the  humble  means  of  aiding^  in  some  small 
degree  the  cause  of  Christian  liberality  amongst 
our  transatlantic  brethren.  Tlie  period  is  ap- 
proaching, when  the  jealousies  and  distinctions 
of  party,  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  shall  be 
lost  in  the  diffusion  of  pure  and  unadulterated 
Christianity.!  In  the  present  awful  crisis  of  infi- 
delity and  lukewarmness.  Christians  are  apt  to 
be  borne  down  by  a  spirit  of  despondency.  But 
the  energies  of  their  faith  ought  by  no  means  to 
be  exhausted.  Over  the  attacks  of  its  enemies, 
and  over  the  infirmities  of  its  friends,  the  religion 
of  Jesus  shall  obtain  a  complete  triumph.  The 
day  of  small  things  must  not  be  despised.  Dis- 
pensations the  most  dark,  and  events  the  most 
unpromjsing,  are  rendered  subservient  to  the  pur- 
poses of  the   divine   government.     The  rays  cf 


53 

revealed  truth  which  have  hitherto  only  beamed! 
upon  us  through  the  clouds  of  our  ignorance  and 
prejudices,  are  nevertheless  destined  to  light  up 
the  radiance  of  a  more  perfect  day.  Then,  to 
adopt  the  energetic  language  of  ancient  prophecy 
— The  xmlf  shall  dvcell  imth  the  lamb^  and  the 
leopard  lie  down  "with  the  kid  and  the  calf)  and 
the  young  lion  and  the  fattling  together y  and 
a  little  child  shall  lead  them.  The  lion  shall 
eat  straiv  like  the  ox^  and  the  suckling  child 
shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  aspy  and  tke 
weaned  child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cock- 
atrice den.  They  shall  not  hurt  nor  de- 
stroy (saith  the  Lord)  in  ALL  MY  HOLY 
MOUNTAIN. 

In  the  mean  time,  may  ihe  GoD  of  PEACE 
allay  the  animosities  and  meliorate  the  temper  of 
the  Christian  world  !  Thus  will  the  wretched 
remains  of  bigotry,  which  are  still  to  be  found  in 
some  unhappy  individuals  of  every  party,  be  gra- 
dually lessened,  and  finally  destroyed.  The  glo- 
rious gospel  of  the  blessed  God  wants  not  any 
adventitious  aid  to  extend  its  empire  over  the 
human  heart.     It  is   of  itself  sufficient,  (under 


A,  '34 

the  blessing  of  heaven)  to  purify  our  affections, 
and  to  prepare  us  for  our  certain  and  speedy  re- 
moval into  ETERMITY. 

That  you,  my  dear  Sir,  and  your  worthy  fam- 
ily, to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  first  pu- 
pils with  which  I  was  entrusted,*  may  enjoy  every 
possible  blessing  ;  and  that  all  my  readers,  (to 
use  the  words  of  my  excellent  friend,  the  Rev, 
H.  Worthington,  on  a  public  occasion)  may  be 
^^  candid,  yetjirm — enquirers,  yet  believers^'^ 
pious,  yet  liberal,^^  is  the  wish  and  prayer  of 
Your's,  with  great  esteem, 

JOHN  EFJNS. 

Pulin's  Row,  Islington. 
*  The  {"^0  sons  of  Samuci  Brent^  £s^,  of  Greenland  JDock. 


CONTENTS. 


IntrGduciory  descrlfikn  <\f 

Atlieists ...•....»•  38 

Deists 44 

Theopliilanthj-opists    •     .     . 52 

Jews       57 

CMnese 6^ 

Cliristians     .     .     ,     , 65 

Mahometans 78 

CHRISTIAN  SECES, 
According  to  the  Person  */  Christ  : 

Trinitanans       ..••... 83 

Athanasians 85 

Sabellians 89 

Arians 91 

Ne<^ssarians      . 96 

Materialists 97 

Socinians 98 

According  to  the  means  and  measure  of  God"^ s  f devour  / 

Oalvinists         10# 

Sublapsarians  and  Supralapsarians 108 

Arminians HO 

Baxterians        ..............  114 

Antinomians ....*11§ 

According  to  the  mode  of  Church  Gorvernment  j 

Papists 120 

Greek,  or  Russian  Church 126 

Protestants 193 

Lutherans         ,  14g 

Hugonots        .....,......,,  149 


36  CONTENTiSr 

PAGB 

Episcopalians,  or  Church  of  England       ......  152 

Dissenters         165 

Kirk  of  Scotland        168 

Seceders 170 

English  Presbyterians 174 

Independents          175 

Browrusts     ,     , «.,....  176 

Paedobaptists ibid 

Baptists,  General  and  Particular 173 

MiscelUneous  Secis,  not  rciucealle  to  the  sieve  three-fold  DiTuion  s 

Quakers 190 

Methodists        .     •     .     .     c 203 

New  Methodists     :.'....<. 211 

Jumpers    ..,»...... 214 

Universalists     .     .     • •     •     .     .     .  219 

Rellyan  Univergalists        227 

jOestructionists        . i     ,     ,     .     .     ,  231 

Sabbatarian^ 235 

Moravins      ..,.•....*...•..  236 

Sandemanians 238 

Hutching  onians       ..,....* 242 

Dunkers 243 

.  Shakers        * 244 

New    American    Sect      .    .    -     ..,.'...  245 

Mystics 246 

Swedenborgians        ...*.. f  247 

Millenarins       .....      .....*....  253 


JlEFLECTIONS 


261 


Recapitulatory   Tabk      ....►<.'..-.*.-    298 


SKETCH, 


The  great  lesson  which  every  sect,  and  every  individual  of  every 
sect,  ought  to  learn  from  the  histor)-  of  the  Cliurch,  is  Mot/- 
eratiorj.  Want  of  genuine  Moderation  towards  tliose  who 
differ  from  us  in  i-eligious  opinions  seems  to  be  the  most 
unaccountable  tiling  in  the  world. 

Watson,  Bishop  of  Landaff, 


JL  HE  Christian  world  is  divided  into  denomiji% 
tions,  each  of  which  is  discriminated  by  senti- 
ments peculiar  to  itself.  To  delineate  the  na- 
ture, point  out  the  foundation,  and  appreciate  the 
tendency  of  every  individual  opinion,  would  be 
an  endless  task.  My  onl}^  design  is  briefly  to 
enumerate  the  leading  tenets  of  the  several  parties 
which  attract  our  notice,  and  to  make  this  variety 
of  religious  opinions  a  ground  for  the  exercise  of 
moderation,  together  with  the  improvement  of 
other  Christian  graces.  The  moderation  here  re- 
commended lies  at  an  equal  distance  between  an 
indifference  to  truth  atid  the  merciless  spirit  of 
uncharitableness.  It  is  a  virtue  much  talked  of, 
little  understood,  and  less  practised, 
T) 


38  ATHEISTS. 


But  before  we  delineate  the  tfknets  of  the  sev- 
eral parties,  the  Atheist  and  Deist  shall  be  just 
mentioned,  two  descriptions  of  persons  frequently 
confounded  together,  and  also  a  general  outline 
given  of  Theophilanthropism  and  Mahometan- 
ism,  of  Judaism  and  Christianity.  These  topics 
will  form  a  proper  introduction  to  an  account  of 
the  Sects  and  Denominations  of  the  Religious 
WoKLP. 


JT  HEISTS. 

THE  Atheist  does  not  believe  in  the  existence 
#f  a  God.  He  attributes  surrounding  nature  and 
all  its  astonishing  phaenomena  to  chance,  or  a^ 
fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms.  Plato  distinguish* 
f  s  three  sorts  of  Atheists ;  such  as  deny  abso* 
lutely  that  there  are  any  Gods,  others  who  al* 
low  the  existence  of  the  Gods,  but  deny  that 
they  concern  themselves  with  human  affairs,  anci 
so  disbelieve  a  Providence ;  and  lastly,  such  as 
believe  in  the  Gods  and  a  Providence,  but  think 
that  they  are  easily  appeased,  and  remit  the 
greatest  crimes  for  the  smallest  supplication.—* 
The  first  of  these,  however,  are  the  only  Athe*^ 
ists,  in  the  strict  and  proper  ^^n^^  of  the  word. 
The  name  of  Atheist  is  composed  of  two  Greek 
terms,  »  and  ^fo?,   signifying  without  Gody  and 


ATHEISTS.  39 


m  this  sense  the  appellation  occurs  in  the  Nevy 
Testament,  Ephes*  ii.  12.  Without  God  in  tk^ 
world.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  direct  Atheists 
are  few.  Some  persons  indeed,  question  the  re- 
ality of  such  a  character,  and  others  insist,  that: 
pretensions  to  Atheism  have  their  origin  in  pride, 
or  are  adopted  as  a  cloak  for  licentiousness.  In 
the  seventeenth  century,  Spinpsa,  a  foreigner^  was 
its  noted  defender  ;  and  Lucilio  Vanini,  an  Ital- 
ian, of  eccentric  character,  was  burnt,  1610,  at 
Toulouse,  for  his  Atheistical  tenets.  Being  press- 
ed to  make  pubhc  acknowledgment  of  his  crime, 
and  to  ask  pardon  of  God,  the  king,  and  justice, 
he  boldly  replied,  that  he  did  not  believe  there 
was  a  God  ;  that  he  never  offended  the  king.: 
and  as  for  justice,  he  wished  it  to  th'e  devil.  He 
confessed  that  he  was  one  of  the  twelve  who 
parted  in  company  from  Naples,  to  spread  their 
doctrines  in  all  parts  of  Europe.  The  poor  man, 
however,  ought  not  to  have  been  put  to  death ; 
confinement  is  the  best  remedy  for  insanity. 
Lord  Bacon,  in  his  Essays  justly  remarks,  that 
*^  A  little  philosophy  inclineth  a  man's  mind 
to  Atheism,  but  depth  in  philosophy  bringeth 
men's  minds  about  to  religion ;  for  while  ^he 
mind  of  man  looketh  upon  second  causes  scatter- 
ed, it  may  rest  in  them  and  go  no  farther :  but 
when  it  beholdeth  the  chain  of  them  confederated 


40  ATHEISTS. 


and  linked  together,  it  must  needs  fiy  to  Provi- 
dence and  Deity.'^ 

Archbishop  Tillotson,  speaking  of  Atheism, 
^ysy  "  For  some  ages  before  the  reformation. 
Atheism  was  confined  to  Italy,  and  had  its  chief 
residence  at  Rome.  All  the  mention  that  is  of 
it  in  the  history  of  those  times,  the  Papists  them- 
selves  give  us,  in  the  lives  of  their  own  popes 
and  cardinals,  excepting  two  or  three  small  phi- 
losophers, that  were  retainers  to  that  court.  So 
that  this  atheistical  humour  amongst  christians 
was  the  spawn  of  the  gross  superstition  and  con- 
rapt  manners  of  the  Romish  church  and  court. 
Andy  indeed,  nothing  is  more  natural  than  for 
extremes  in  religion  to  beget  one  another,  like 
the  vibrations  of  a  pendulumy  which  the  more 
violently  you  swing  in  one  way,  the  farther  it 
will  return  the  other.  But  in  this  last  age 
Atheism  has  travelled  over  the  Alps  and  infected 
France,  and  now  of  late  it  hath  crossed  the  seas 
and  invaded  our  nation,  and  hath  prevailed  to 
amazement !" 

The  sermons  preached  at  Boyle's  lecture — the 
discourses  of  Abernethy  on  the  Divine  Attributes, 
anB  the  treatises  of  Dr.  Balguy  are  an  infallible 
antidote  against  Atheistical  tenets.  This  last 
writer  thus  forcibly  expresses  himself  on  the 
subject  ; — 


ATHEISTS,  41 


^^  Of  all  the  false  doctrines  and  foolish  opin- 
ions which  ever  infested  the  mind  of  man,  no- 
thing can  possibly  equal  that  of  Atheism,  which 
is  such  a  monstrous  contradiction  to  all  evidence, 
to  all  the  powers  of  understanding,  and  the 
dictates  of  common  sense,  that  it  may  be  well 
questioned  whether  any  man  can  really  fall  in- 
to it  by  a  deliberate  use  of  his  judgment.  All 
nature  so  dearly  points  out,  and  so  loudly  pro- 
claims a  Creator  of  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and 
goodness,  that  whoever  hears  not  its  voice  and 
sees  not  its  proofs,  may  well  be  thought  wilfully 
deaf  and  obstinately  blind.  If  it  be  evident,  self- 
evident,  to  every  man  of  thought,  that  there 
can  be  no  effect  without  a  cause,  what  shall  we 
say  of  that  manifold  combination  of  effects,  that 
seifies  of  operations,  that  system  of  wonders, 
which  fill  the  universe  ;  which  present  themselves 
to  all  our  preceptions,  and  strike  our  minds  and 
our  senses  qji  every  side  !  Every  faculty,  every 
object  of  every  faculty,  demonstrates  a  Deity^ 
The  meanest  insect  we  can  see,  the  minutest  and 
most  contemptible  weed  we  can  tread  upon,  is 
really  sufficient  to  confound  Atheism,  and  baffle 
all  its  pretensions.  How  much  more  that  aston- 
ishing variety  and  multiplicity  of  God's  works  with 
which  we  are  continually  surrounded  !  Let  any 
Kian  survey  the  face  of  the  earth,  or  lift  up  his 
1)2 


4i  ATHEISTS. 


eyes  to  the  firmament ;  let  him  consider  the  na- 
ture and  instinct  of  brute  animals,  and  afterwards 
look  into  the  operations  of  his  own  mind :  will 
be  presume  to  say  or  suppose  that  all  the  objects 
he  meets  with  are  nothing  more  than  the  result 
of  unaccountable  accident  and  blind  chance  ? 
Can  he  possibly  conceive  that  such  wonderful 
order  should  spring  out  of  confusion ;  or  that 
such  perfect  beauty  should  be  ever  formed  by  the 
fortuitous  operations  of  unconscious,  unactive 
particles  of  matter  ?  As  well,  nay  better,  and 
more  easily,  might  he  suppose,  that  an  earthquake 
laaight  happen  to  build  towns  and  cities ;  or  the 
materials  carried  down  by  a  flood  fit  themselves 
up  without  hands  mto  a  regular  fleet.  For  what 
are  towns,  cities,  or  fleets,  in  comparison  of  the 
vast  and  amazing  fabric  of  the  universe  t  In 
short,  Atheism  offers  such  violence  to  all  our 
faculties,  that  it  seems  scarce  credible  it  should 
ever  really  find  any  footing  in  human  under- 
standing." 

The  arguments  for  the  being  of  a  God  are  dis- 
tributed by  the  learned  into  two  hinds:  1st.  Ar- 
guments a  priori^  or  those  taken  from  the  neces* 
sity  of  the  divine  existence;  2d.  Arg-uments  i 
posteriorly  or  those  taken  from  the  works  of  na- 
ture. Of  the  latter  species  of  proof  the  above 
quotation  from  Dr.  Balguy  is  a  fine  illustration. 


ATHEISTS,  45 


On  the  former  see  the  great  Dr.  Clark's  Essay- 
on  the  Bemg  of  a  God,  which  has  been  deemed, 
a  mastei^-piece  on  the  subject.  The  reader  is  also 
referred  to  Dr.  Paley's  incomparable  work  on 
Natural  Theology,  which,  though  it  bears  a 
strong  resemblance  to  Derhams'  Physico-theolo- 
gy,  is  by  far  more  compact  and  impressive* 

Newton,  Boyle,  Maclaurin,  Ray,  Derham, 
Locke,  and  other  philosophers,  distinguished  for 
the  profundity  of  their  researches,  and  the  extent 
of  their  erudition,  are  to  be  enrolled  amongst  the 
principal  advocates  far  the  existence  and  superin- 
tendence of  a  Deity,* 


*  On  this  subject  the  celebrated  Lord  Chesterfield  made  the 
following  declaration  ;  and  no  man  can  suppose  ^/j  understand- 
ing to  have  been  clouded  with  religious  prejudices.  "  I  have 
read  some  of  Seed's  sermons,  and  like  them  very  well.  But  I 
have  neither  read  nor  intend  to  read  those  wliich  are  meant  to 
prove  the  existence  of  God  ;  because  it  seems  to  me  too  great 
a  disparagement  of  that  reaso?i  which  he  has  given  us  to  re- 
quire any  other  proofs  of  his  existence  than  those  which  the 
whole  and  every  part  of  the  creation  afford  us.  If  I  believe 
my  own  existence,  I  must  believe  his  ;  it  cannot  be  proved  a 
priori^  as  some  have  idly  attempted  to  do,  and  cannot  be  doubt- 
ed oi  a  posteriori.  Cato  says  very  justly—*'  Atiii  that  t<i  ?^  aii 
mture  met  tUoitd'^    £/ega/it  Efisiki, 


44  DEISTS. 


DEISTS. 

THE  Deists  believe  in  a  God,  but  reject  a 
written  revelation  from  him.  They  are  extrava- 
gant in  their  encomiums  on  natural  religion, 
though  they  differ  much  respecting  its  nature, 
.  extent,  obligation,  and  importance.  Dr.  Clarke, 
in  his  famous  treatise  against  Deism,  divides -them 
into  four  classes,  according  to  the  less  or  greater 
number  of  articles  comprised  in  their  creed. 
^^  The^r.9t  are  such  as  pretend  to  believe  the 
existence  of  an  eternal,  infinite,  independent,  in- 
telligent Being,  and  who,  to  avoid  the  name  of 
Epicurean  Atheists,  teach  also  that  this  supreme 
Being  made  the  world,  though  at  the  same  time 
they  agree  with  the  Epicureans  in  this,  that  they 
fancy  God  does  not  at  all  concern  himself  in  the 
government  of  the  world  ;  nor  has  any  regard  to, 
or  care  of,  what  is  done  therein,  agreeably  ta  the 
reasoning  of  Lucretius,  the  Epicurean  poet— 

For  whatsoe'er  divine  must  live  at  peace, 

In  undisturbed  and  everlasting  ease  ; 

Nor  care  for  us,  from  fears  and  dangers  free, 

Sufficient  to  his  own  felicity. 

Nought  here  below,  i>ought  in  our  pow'r  it  needs, 

Ne'er  smiles  at  good,  nor  frowns  at  wicked  deeds. 

The  second  sort  of  Deists  are    those   who   be- 
lieve not  only  the  Being  but  also  th«   providence 


DEISTS.  45 

of  God  with  respect  to  the  natural  worlds  but 
who  not  allowing  any  difference  between  moral 
good  and  evil^  deny  that  God  takes  any  notice 
of  the  morally  good  or  evil  actions  of  men,  these 
things  depending,  as  they  imagine,  on  the  arbi- 
trary constitution  of  human  laws. 

A  third  sort  of  Deists  there  are,  who  having 
right  apprehensions  concerning  the  natural  attri- 
butes of  God  and  his  all-governing  Providence, 
and  some  notion  of  his  moral  perfections  also,  yet 
being  prejudiced  against  the  notion  of  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  believe  that  men  perish  entirely 
at  death,  and  that  one  generation  shall  perpetu- 
ally succeed  another,  without  any  farther  restora- 
tion or  renovation  of  things. 

A  fourth  and  the  last  sort  of  Deists  are  such  as 
believe  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being,  to- 
gether with  his  Providence  in  the  government  of 
the  world,  also  all  the  obligations  of  natural  reli- 
gion, but  so  far  only  as  these  things  are  discover- 
able by  the  light  of  nature  alone,  without  be- 
lieving any  divine  revelation."  These,  the  learn- 
ed author  observes,  are  the  only  true  Deists  ;  but 
as  their  principles  would  naturally  lead  them  to 
embrace  the  Christian  revelation,  he  concludes 
there  is  now  no  consistent  scheme  of  Deism  in 
the  world,     Dr,  Clarke  then  adds  these  pertinent 


46  DEISTS. 

observations,  mingled  with  a  just  severity.  ^^  The 
Heathen  philosophers,  those  few  of  them  who 
taught  and  lived  up  to  the  obligations  of  natural 
religion,  had  indeed  a  consistent  scheme  of  Deism 
as  far  as  it  went.  But  the  case  is  not  so  now  ; 
the  srame  scheme  is  not  any  longer  consistent  with 
its  own  principles,  it  does  not  now  lead  men  to 
believe  and  embrace  revelation,  as  it  then  taught 
them  to  hope  for  it.  Deists  in  our  days,  who  re- 
ject revelation  when  offered  to  them,  are  not  such 
men  as  Socrates  and  Cicero  were,  but  under  pre- 
tence of  Deism,  it  is  plain  they  are  generally  rl- 
-diculers  of  all  that  is  truly  excellent  in  natural 
religion  itself.  Their  trivial  and  vain  cavils,  their 
mocking  and  ridiculing  without  and  before  exa- 
mination, their  directing  the  w^hole  stress  of  ob- 
jections against  particular  customs,  or  particular 
and  perhaps  uncertain  opinions  or  explications  of 
opinions,  without  at  all  considering  the  main 
body  of  religion,  their  loose,  vain,  and  frothy 
discourses,  and,  above  ail,  their  vicious  and  im- 
moral lives  shew  plainly  and  undeniably  that  they 
are  not  real  Deists  but  mere  Atheists^  and  con- 
sequentlj?^  not  capable  to  judge  of  the  truth  of 
Christanity.''  The  present  Deists  are  of  two 
sorts  only,  those  w^ho  believe,  and  those  who 
disbelieve  in  a  future  state.     If  a  Theist   be   dif- 


DEISTS.  47 

ferent  from  a  Deist,  it  is  that  he  has  not  had  re- 
velation proposed  to  him,  and  follows  therefore 
the  pure  light  of  nature** 

The  term  Deist  comes  from  the  Latin  word 
Deus,  a  God  ;  and  is  applied  to  the  rejectors  of 
revelation,  because  the  existence  of  a  God  is  the 
principal  article  of  their  belief.  The  name  was 
first  atssumed  by-  a  number  of  gentlemen  in  France 
and  Italy,  who  were  willing  to  cover  their  oppo- 
sition to  the  Christian  revelation  by  a  more  hon- 
orable naiifte  than  that  of  Atheists.  Viret,  a 
divine  of  eminence  among  the  first  reformers,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  first  author  who  expressly 
mentions  them ;  for  in  the  Epistle  Dedicatory 
prefixed  to  the  second  volume  of  his  Instruction 
Chretienncy   published   in    1563,    he    speaks    of 


*  Paganism  is  the  corruption  of  natural  religion,  and  is  little 
else' than  the  vvorsliip  of  idols  and  false  gods.  These  were  either 
men,  as  Jupiter,  Hercules,  Bacchus,  &c.  or  fictitious  persons,  as 
Victory,  Fame,  Fever,  &:c.  or  beasts  as  in  Egypt,  crocodiles, 
«at3,  &c.  or  finally  inanimate  things,  as  onions,  fire,  water,  &c. 
Upon  the  propagation  of  Christianity,  Paganism  gradually  de- 
cHmd.  JuHan,  the  apostate,  made  an  ineffectual  attempt  to 
revive  it,  and  it  is  now  degenerated  into  gross  and  disgustful 
idolatary.  Such  especially  was  it  found  to  be  in  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  lately  discovered  by  that  unfortunate  navigator  Capt, 
Cook.  Curious  specimens  of  the  Pagan  idols  may  be  seen  both 
in  the  Leuerian  and  British  Museums*  When  I  saw  them  there 
—the  worshipers  of  tuch  hideous  dfeforxnity,  excited  my  com- 
miseration. 


48  DEISTS. 

some  persons  at  that  time  who  called  themselves 
by  a  new  name,  that  of  Deists.  Deists  are  also 
often  called  Infidels,  (from  the  Latin  word  ijift- 
delis)  on  account  of  their  want  of  faith  or  behef 
in  the  Christian  Religion.  Some .  hideed  have 
censured  the  application  of  the  term  infidelity  to 
unbelievers,  contending  that  in  our  language  it 
is  used  solely  in  a  particular  sense,  implying  the 
want  of  conjugal  Jidelity, 

Lord  Herbert,  of  Cherbury,  was  the  first  Deist 
who  excited  public  notice  in  this  country.  Dr. 
Brown's  recent  edition  of  Leland's  View  of  the 
Deistical  Writers,  together  with  many  other  valu- 
able treaties,  afford  information  concerning  their 
principles,  and  contain  a  complete  refutation  of 
their  objections  against  revealed  religion.  Mr. 
Belsham  has  thus  w^ell  assigned  the  principal 
causes  of  modem  infidelity  in  his  reply  to  Mr. 
Wilberforce.  ^^  1.  The  first  and  chief  is  an  un- 
willingness to  submit  to  the  restraints  of  religion, 
and  the  dread  of  a  future  life,  which  leads  men 
to  overlook  evidence,  and  to  magnify  objections. 
2.  The  palpable  absurdities  of  creeds  generally 
professed  by  Christians,  which  men  of  sense  hav- 
ing confounded  with  the  genuine  doctrines  of  re- 
velation, they  have  rejected  the  whole  at  once, 
and  without  enquiry,  3.  Impatience  and  un- 
wilhngness  to  persevere  in  the    laborious   task   of 


DEISTS.  49 


weighing  arguments  and  examijiing  objectionSe 
4.  Fashion  has  biassed  the  minds  of  some  young 
persons  of  virtuous  characters  and  competent 
knowledge  to  resist  revelation,  in  order  to  avoid 
the  imputation  of  singularity,  and  to  escape  the 
ridicule  of  those  with  whom  they  desire  to  asso- 
ciate. 5.  Pride  that  they  might  at  an  easy  rate 
attain  the  character  of  philosophers  and  superio- 
rity to  vulgar  prejudice.  6.  Dwelling  upon  dif- 
ficulties only  from  which  the  most  rational  sys- 
tem is  not  exempt,  and  by  which  the  most  candid, 
inquisitive,  and  virtuous  minds  are  sometimes  en- 
tangled. The  mass  of  mankind,  who  never  think 
at  all,  but  w^ho~admit,  without  hesitation,  ^'  all 
that  the  nurse  and  that  the  priest  have  taught," 
can  never  become  sceptics.  Of  course  the  whole 
€lass  of  unbelievers  consists  of  persons  w^ho  have 
thought  more  or  less  upon  the  subject,  and  as  per- 
sons of  sense  seldom  discard  at  once  all  the  prin- 
ciples in  which  they  have  been  educated,  it  is  not 
wonderful  that  many  w^ho  begin  with  the  highest 
orthodoxy  pass  through  different  stages  of  their 
creed,  dropping  an  article  or  two  every  step  of 
their  progress,  till  at  last  w^eary  of  their  labour, 
and  not  knowing  where  to  fix,  they  reject  it  al- 
together. This  to  a  superficial  and  timid  ob- 
server, appears  to  be  an  objection  to  freedom  of 
enquiry,  for  no  person    beginning  to  enquire,  can 


90  DEISTS. 

or  ought  to  say  where  he  will  stop.  But  the  sin- 
cere friend  to  truth  will  not  be  discouraged.  For 
without  enquiry  truth  cannot  be  ascertained,  and 
if  the  Christian  religion  shrinks  from  close  exam- 
ination in  this  bold  and  inquisitive  age,  it  must 
and  it  ought  to  fall.  But  of  this  issue  I  have  not 
the  smallest  apprehension.  Genuine  Christianity 
can  well  bear  the  fiery  trial  through  which  it  is 
now  passing,  and  while  the  dross  and  the  rubbish 
are  consumed,  the  pure  gold  will  remain  unin- 
jured, and  will  come  forth  from  the  furnace  with 
increased  lustre.'* 

Indeed  the  objections  which  some  Deists  have 
made  to  revelation,  affect  not  so  much  the  reli- 
gion of  Jesus  Chirst,  laid  down  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament, as  certain  absurd  doctrines  and  ridiculous 
practices  which  have  been  added  to  it  b}^  the 
weakness  and  wickedness  of  mankind.  Reitera- 
ted accusations  therefore  of  unfairness  have  been 
brought  against  the  generality  of  deistical  writers; 
and  with  this  palpable  injustice  Bolingbroke,  Vol- 
taire, and  Thomas  Paine  stand  particularly  charg- 
ed. Paine's  Jge  of  Reason  has  been  ably  answer- 
ed by  many  w^riters,  especially  by  the  present 
Bishop  of  Landaff*,  in  his  masterly  performance, 
entitled  An  Apology  for  the  Bible. 

The  rejecters  of  REVELATION  (before  they 
thoughtlessly  calumniate    it)    would    do   well   te 


DEISTS.  51 


consider  what  they  are  able  to  give  us  in  its  stead, 
better  calculated  to  alleviate  the  distresses,  and 
bind  up  the  bleeding  heart  of  humanity. 

The  late  Dr.  Beattie,  in  the  eloquent  conclu- 
sion of  his  Essay  on  the  Immutability  of  Truth, 
speaking  of  Sceptics  and  Deists,  very  justly  re- 
marks ; — "  Caressed  by  those  who  call  themselves 
the  great,  engrossed  by  the  formalities  and  foppe- 
ries of  life,  intoxicated  with  vanity,  pampered 
with  adulation,  dissipated  in  the  tumult  of  busi- 
ness, or  amidst  the  vicissitudes  of  folly,  they  per- 
haps have  little  need  and  little  relish  for  the  con- 
solations of  religion.  But  let  them  know,  that 
in  the  solitary  scenes  of  life  there  is  many  an  honest 
and  tender  heart  pining  with  incurable  anguish, 
pierced  with  the  sharpest  sting  of  disappointment, 
bereft  of  friends,  chilled  with  poverty,  racked 
with  disease,  scourged  by  the  oppressor,  whom 
nothing  but  trust  in  Providence,  and  the  hope  of 
a  future  retribution,  could  preserve  from  the  ago- 
nies of  despair.  And  do  they  with  sacrilegious 
hands  attempt  to  violate  this  last  refuge  of  the 
miserable,  and  to  rob  them  of  the  only  comfort 
that  had  survived  the  ravages  of  misfortune,  ma- 
lice, and  tyranny  !  Did  it  ever  happen  that  the 
influence  of  their  tenets  disturbed  the  tranquility 
of  virtuous  retirement,  deepened  the  gloom  of  hu- 
man distress,  or  aggravated  the  horrors  of  the 
grave  ?     Ye  traitors  to  human  kind,  ye   murder- 


THEOPHILANTHROPISTS. 


ers  of  the  human  soul,  how  can  ye  answer  for  it 
to  your  own  hearts  ?  Surely  every  spark  of  your 
generosity  is  extinguished  forever^  if  this  consid- 
eration do  not  awaken  in  you  the  keenest  re- 
morse." Some  admirable  strictures  on  the  na- 
ture and  prevalence  of  modem  Deism_,  are  con- 
tained in  the  present  Bishop  of  London^s  Charge 
to  the  Clergy  for  the  year  1794.  Indeed  all  the 
writings  of  this  prelate  have  a  pious,  liberal,  and 
useful  tendeucv. 


THEOPHILANTHROPISTS. 

Theophilanthropists  are  a  kind  of  Deists  arisen 
in  France  during  the  revolution.  Mr.  Thomas 
Paine  figured  amongst  them  for  some  time,  and 
even  delivered  a  discourse  before  them  on  the 
principles,  &c.  of  this  system,  which  was  after- 
wards established.  Since  the  return  of  Popery 
under  Bonaparte,  they  are  said  to  be  nearly  anni- 
hilated. At  least  they  by  no  means  attract  so 
much  of  the  public  attention.  The  name  by 
which  they  stand  distinguished,  is  a  compound 
term,  derived  from  the  Greek,  and  intimates  that 
they  profess  to  adore  God  and  love  their  felloxv- 
creatures.  Their  common  principle  is  a  belief 
in  the  existence,  perfections,  and  providence  of 
God^  and  in  the  doctrine    of  a   future   life,   and 


THEOPHII-ANTHROPISTS.  53 

their  rule  of  morals  is  love  to  God  and  good 
will  to  men.  Dr.  John  Walker,  a  medical  gen- 
tleman, author  of  the  Universal  Gazetteer,  pub- 
lished the  manual  of  the  sect,  from  which  a  few 
particulars  shall  be  extracted. 

'*  The  temple,  the  most  worthy  of  the  divinity^ 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Theophilanthropists,  is  the 
universe.  Abandoned  sometimes  under  the  vault 
of  heaven,  t«ji^the  contemplation  of  the  beauties 
of  nature,  they  render  its  author  the  homage  of 
adorotion  and  gratitude.  They  nevertheless 
have  temples  erected  by  the  hands  of  men,  in 
which  it  is  more  commodious  for  them  to  as- 
semble to  listen  to  lessons  concerning  his  wisdom. 
Certain  moral  inscriptions,  a  simple  altar  on 
which  they  deposit,  as  a  sign  of  gratitude  for  the 
benefits  of  the  Creator,  such  flowers  or  fruits  as 
the  seasons  afford^  and  a  tribute  of  the  lectures 
and  discourses,  form  the  whole  of  the  ornaments 
of  their  temples. 

The  first  inscription    placed    above    the    altar^ 
recalls  to  remembrance  the  two  religious  dogmas^ 
which  are  the  foundation  of  their  moral. 
First  Inscription. 

We  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  God,  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul. 

Second  Inscription.^ 

Worship  God,  cherish  your  kind^  render   your* 
selves  useful  to  your  country. 
E2 


64  THEOPHILANTHROPISTS. 

Third  Inscription. 

Good,  in  every  thing  which  tends  to  the  preser- 
vation or  the  perfection  of  man. 

Evil,  is  every  thing  which  tends  to  destroy  or 
deteriorate  him. 

Fourth  Inscription, 

Children  honour   your    fathers   and    mothers. 

Obey  them  with    affection.      Comfort   their   old 

age- 
Fathers  and  mothers  instruct  your  children. 

Fifth  Inscription. 

Wives  regard  in  your  husbands  the  chiefs  of 
your  houses. 

Husbands  love  your  wives,  and  render  your- 
selves reciprocally  happy. 

The  assembly  sits  to  hear  lessons  or  discourses 
on  morality,  principles  of  religion,  of  benev- 
olence, and  of  universal  salvation,  principles 
equally  remote  from  the  severity  of  stoicism, 
and  Epicurean  indolence.  These  lectures  and 
discourses  are  diversified  by  hymns.  Their 
assemblies  are  holden  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  and  on  the  decades.'*  Mr.  Belsham,  in  his 
answer  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  speaking  of  this  new 
French  sect  of  Deists^  remarks — "  Its   professed 


THEOPHILANTHROPISTS.  55 


principles  comprehend  the  essence  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  but  not  admitting  the  resurrection 
of  Christ,  the  Theophilantropists  deprive  them- 
selves of  the  only  sohd  ground  on  which  to  build 
the  hope  of  a  future  existence." 

The  concluding  part  of  the  manual  of  the 
Theophilantropists  being  still  further  explana- 
tory of  their  tenets  and  conduct,  shall  be  here  in- 
troduced— ^^  If  any  one  ask  you  what  is  the 
origin  of  your  religion  and  of  your  worship,  you 
can  answer  him  thus  : — Open  the  most  ancient 
books  which  are  known,  seek  there  what  was 
the  religion,  what  the  worship  of  the  first  human 
beings  of  which  history  has  preserved  the  re- 
membrance. There  you  w^ill  see  that  their  re- 
ligion was  what  we  now  call  natural  religion^ 
because  it  has  for  its  principle  even  the  Author  of 
nature.  It  is  he  that  has  engraven  it  in  the 
heart  of  the  first  human  beings,  in  ours,  in  that 
of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  ;  this  religion 
which  consists  in  worshipping  God  and  cherish- 
ing our  kind,  is  what  w^e  express  by  one  single 
word,  that  of  Theophilanthropy.  Thus  our  re- 
ligion is  that  of  our  first  parents  ;  it  is  yours  ;  it 
is  ours  ;  it  is  the  universal  religion.  As  to  our 
worship,  it  is  also  that  of  our  first  fathers.  See  . 
even  in  the  most  ancient  writings,  that  the  exterior 
signs  by  which  they  rendered   their   homage   to 


96  THEOPHItAVTHROPISTS. 

the  Creator^  were  of  great  simplicity.  They 
dressed  for  him  an  altar  of  earth,  they  offered 
him,  in  jsign  of  their  gratitude  and  of  their  sub- 
mission, some  of  th^  productions  which  they  held 
of  his  liberal  hand.  The  fathers  exhorted  their 
children  to  virtue  ;  they  all  encouraged  one  an- 
other under  the  auspices  of  the  Divinity  to  the 
accomplishment  of  their  duties.  This  simple 
worship,  the  sages  of  all  nations  have  not  ceased 
to  profess^  and  they  have  transmitted  it  down  ta 
us  without  interruption. 

If  they  yet  ask  you  of  whom  you  hold  your 
mission,  answer  we  hold  it  of  God  himself,  who 
in  giving  us  two  arms,  to  aid  our  kind,  has  also 
given  us  intelligence  to  mutually  enlighten  u?^  ' 
and  the  love  of  good  to  bring  us  together  to  vir- 
tue ;  of  God  who  has  given  experience  and  wis- 
dom to  the  aged  to  guide  the  young,  and  autho- 
rity to  fathers  to  conduct  their  children. 

If  they  are  not  struck  with  the  force  of  these 
reasons^,  do  not  farther  discuss  the  subject,  and  da 
not  engage  yourself  in  controversies,  which  tend 
to  diminish  the  love  of  our  neighbours.  Our 
principles  are  the  eternal  truth,  they  will  subsist, 
w^hatever  individuals  may  support  or  attack  them, 
and  the  efforts  of  the  wicked  will  not  even  pre- 
vail against  them.  Rest  firmly  attached  to  them, 
without  attaching  or  defending  any  religious  sys- 


JUDAlSxM.  57 


tem^  and  remember  that  similar  discussions  have 
never  produced  good,  and  that  they  have  often 
tinged  the  earth  with  the  blood  of  men.  Let  us 
lay  aside  systems,  and  apply  ourselves  to  doing 
good.     It  is  the  only  road  to  happmess." 

The  Christian  reader  will  admire  the  practical 
tendency  of  this  new  species  of  Deism,  but 
lament  the  defects  by  which  it  stands  charac- 
terized. It  wants  the  broad  basis  of  revelation, 
which  would  give  permanency  to  its  doctrines, 
and  energy  to  its  precepts,  besides  the  glorious 
discoveries  of  immortality  !  It  was  hoped  at  one 
time  that  the  profession  of  this  system  in  France 
would  have  prepared  the  w^ay  for  the  reception 
©f  pure  Christianity. 


JUDAISM. 


Judaism  is  the  religious  doctrines  and  rites  of 
the  Jews,  who  are  the  descendants  of  Abraham, 
a  person  of  eminence,  chosen  by  God,  soon  after 
the  flood,  to  preserve  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine 
Unity  among  the  idolatrous  nations  of  the  earth. 
A  complete  system  of  Judaism  is  contained  in  the 
five  books  of  MosES,  their  great  law-giver,  who 
was  raised  up  to  deliver  them  from  their  bondage 
in  Egypt,  and  to  conduct  them  to   the   possession 


S8  JUDAISM. 

of  Canaan,  the  promised  land.  The  Jewish 
ceconomy  is  so  much  directed  to  temporal  re- 
wards and  punishments,  that  it  has  been  ques- 
tioned whether  the  Jews  had  any  knowledge  of  a 
future  state.  This  opinion  has  been  defended 
with  vast  erudition  by  Warburton,  in  his  Divine 
Legation  of  Moses  ;  but  it  has  been  controverted 
by  Dr.  Sykes,  and  other  authors  of  respectability. 
The  principal  sects  among  the  Jews,  in  the  time 
cf  our  Saviour,  were  the  Pharisees^  who  placed 
religion  in  external  ceremony — the  SadduceSy 
who  were  remarkable  for  their  incredulity^  and 
the  EsseneSy  who  were  distinguished  by  an 
austere  sanctity.  Some  accounts  of  these  sects 
will  be  found  in  the  last  volume  of  Prideaux's 
Connection,  in  Harwood's  Introduction  to  the 
Study  of  the  New  Testament,  and  in  Marsh's 
improved  edition  of  Michaelis,  recently  published. 
The  Pharisees  and  Sadduces  are  frequently 
^mentioned  in  the  New  Testament  ;  and  an  ac- 
,quaintance  with  their  principles  and  practices 
serves  to  illustrate  man}^  passages  in  the  sacred 
history.  At  present  the  Jews  have  two  sects, 
the  CaraiteSy  W'ho  admit  no  rule  of  religion  but 
the  law  of  Moses  ;  and  the  Rabbinists,  who 
add  to  the  laws  the  traditions  of  the  Talmud. 
The  dispersion  of  the  Jews  took  place  upon  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem   bv   Titus   the   Roman 


JUDAISM.  59 


Emperor,  A.  D.  70.  The  expectation  of  a  Mes- 
siah is  the  distinguishing  feature  of  their  religious 
system.  The  word  MESSIAH  signifies  one 
unointedy  or  installed  into  an  office  by  unctk)n. 
The  Jews  used  to  anoint  their  kings,  high-priests, 
and  sometimes  prophets,  at  their  entering  upon 
office.  Thus  Saul,  David,  Solomon,  and  Joash, 
kings  of  Judah,  received  the  royal  unction.  Thus 
also  Aaron  and  his  sons  received  the  sacerdotal^ 
and  Elisha,  the  disciple  of  Elijah,  the  prophetic 
unction. 

Christians  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
Messiah,  in  whom  all  the  Jewish  prophecies  are 
accomplished.  The  Jews,  infatuated  with  the 
idea  of  a  temporal  Messiah,  who  is  to  sub- 
due the  world,  still  wait  for  his  appearance. 
According  to  Buxtorf,  (a  professor  of  Hebrew, 
and  celebrated  for  rabbinical  learning)  some  of 
the  modern  rabbins  believe  that  the  Messiah  is 
already  come,  but  that  he  will  not  manifest  him- 
self on  account  of  the  sins  of  the  Jews.  Others 
however  have  had  recourse  to  the  hypothesis  of 
two  Messiahs,  who  are  to  succeed  each  other — 
one  in  a  st^ite  of  humiliation  and  suffering — the 
other  in  a  state  of  glory,  magnificence,  an4 
power.  Be  it  however  remembered,  that  in  the 
New  Testament  Jesus  Chirst '  assures  us  in  the 
njost  explicit  ter/ns  that  he  is  the   Messiah.      U 


60  JUDAISM. 


John  iv.  2oy  the  Samaritan  woman  says  to  Jesus, 
/  know  that  Messiahs  cometh  which  is  called 
Christ :  ivhen  he  is  comcy  he  ivill  tell  tis  all 
things.  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  I  that  speak  to 
thee  am  He.  According  to  the  prediction  of 
Jesus  Christ,  several  imposters  would  assume 
the  title  of  Messiah  :  and  accordingly  such 
persons  have  appeared.  An  history  of  ^'  False 
Messiahs^^  has  been  written  by  a  Dutchman. 
Barcochab  was  the  first,  who  appeared  in  the 
time  of  Adrian  ;  the  second,  in  1666,  was  Sab- 
bethai  Levi,  who  turned  Mahometan  ;  and  the 
last  was  Rabbi  Mordecai,  who  was  talked  of  in 
1682. 

The  Talmud  is  a  collection  of  the  doctrines 
and  morality  of  the  Jews.  They  have  two  works 
that  bear  this  name  ;  the  first  is  called  the  Tal- 
mud of  Jerusalem  ;  and  the  other  the  Talmud  of 
Babylon.  The  former  is  shorter  and  more  ob- 
scure than  that  of  Babylon,  but  is  of  an  older 
date.  The  Talmud  compiled  at  Babylon  the 
Jews  prefer  to  that  of  Jerusalem,  as  it  is  clearer 
and  more  extensive. 

The  Jewish  oeconomy  was  certainly  typi- 
cal of  the  Christian  dispensation  in  many  im- 
portant respects,  but  these  types  and  antitypes 
have  been  wretchedly  abused.  A  curious  in- 
stance of  this  kind  occurred    about    the    time   of 


JUDAISM.  61 


the  reformation.  Le  Clerc  has  recorded  it  ;  and 
the  perusal  of  it  must  create  a  smile.  The  story 
is  this  :  two  eminent  Protestants,  a  Lutheran 
and  a  Calvinist  had  been  wrangling  for  a  conside- 
rable time  about  the  precedency  of  their  patriach?^ 
without  any  seeming  advantage  ;  when  the  one 
took  it  into  his  head  to  make  Luther  the  antitype 
of  Aaron,  seeing  he  was  the  first  who  had  set 
up  and  lighted  the  grand  candlestick  of  the  re- 
formation in  the  tabernacle.  The  other  not 
being  able  to  disprove  the  fact,  had  recourse  to 
the  same  typical  reasoning,  and  affirmed  that  if 
Luther  was  Aaron's  antitype,  upon  that  score 
Calvin  was  much  more  so,  since  it  is  manifest 
that  if  he  had  not  taken  the  snuffers  in  his  hand 
and  snuffed  the  lamps,  the  candlestick:  would 
have  given  so  dim  a  light,  that  few  people  would 
have  been  the  better  for  it  ! 

The  most  remarkable  periods  in  the  history  of 
the  Jews  are  the  call  of  Abraham,  the  giving  of 
the  law  by  Moses,  their  establishment  in  Canaan 
under  Joshua,  the  building  of  the  Temple  by 
Solomon,  the  division  of  the  tribes,  their  cap- 
tivity in  Babylon,  their  return  under  Zerubbabel, 
and  the  destruction  of  their  city  and  temple 
by  the  Emperor  Titus.  Their  books  of  the 
Old  Testament  are  the  most  ancient  and  authen- 
tic records  extant.  For  further' information  res- 
pecting  Judaism,  many   publications     may     he 

F 


62  JUDAISM. 


consulted.  See  the  writings  of  Josephus,  their 
famous  historian,  of  which  there  are  several 
translations  in  our  language — Dr.  Jenning'6  two 
volumes  of  Jewish  antiquities.  Dr.  Shaw's  Phi- 
losophy of  Judaism,  and  the  late  Mr.  David 
Levi's  Ceremonies  of  the  Jewish  Religion. 

I  shall  conclude  this  article  of  the  Jews,  with 
remarking  that  the  indefatigable  Dr.  Priestly 
addressed  them  some  years  ago  with  spirit,  and 
the  above  Mr.  Levi,  a  learned  Jew,  has  replied. 
An  excellent  Address^  however,  to  the  Jews, 
has  since  come  from  the  same  pen,  dated  Nor- 
thumberland, America,  October  1,  1799.  It 
concludes  in  the  following  pointed  manner  :  "  I 
formerly  took  the  liberty  to  address  you,  and  had 
the  happiness  to  find  you  were  satisfied  that  I 
WTOte  from  the  purest  motives,  and  a  sincere  re- 
spect and  good-will  to  your  nation.  Having 
then  advanced  all  that  I  thought  necessary  for 
the  purpose,  I  shall  not  repeat  it  here.  But  I 
cannot  help  observing,  that  though  one  of  your 
laation,  a  person  whom  I  well  know  and  respect, 
replied  to  me,  he  did  not  undertake  to  refute  my 
principal  argumeiit,  viz.  that  from  Historical 
Evidence,  He  did  not  pretend  to  point  out  any 
defect  in  the  arguments  that  I  advanced,  for  Jesus 
having  wrought  real  miracles,  for  his  having 
died,  and  having  risen  from,  the  dead.  And  if 
jTie  gospel  hiitory  of  those    facts   be   true,  what- 


JUDAISM.  63 


ever  may  be  objected  to  Christianity  on  other 
accounts,  the  divine  mission  will  be  unquestion- 
able. God  would  never  have  suffered  any  per- 
son pretending  to  have  come  from  him,  to  impose 
upon  your  nation  and  the  whole  world  in  so  egre- 
gious a  manner  as  Jesus  must  have  done,  if  l^^e 
had  been  an  smpostor.  Would  God  have  raised 
an  impostor  to  life,  after  a  public  execution  ?  And 
yet  in  my  discourse  on  that  subject,  I  have  shewn 
that  this  one  fact  has  the  most  convincing  evi- 
dence that  any  fact  of  the  kind  could  possibly 
have.  If  you  attentively  consider  the  character 
of  Jesus,  his  great  simplicity,  his  piety,  his  bene- 
volence, and  every  other  virtue,  you  must  be 
satisfied  that  he  was  incapable  of  imposture. 
Compare  his  character  and  conduct  with  that  of 
Mahomet,  or  any  other  known  impostor,  and 
this  argument  of  the  internal  kind  must  strike 
you  in  a  forcible  manner.  Besides  how  was  it 
possible  for  such  a  religion  as  the  Christian, 
preached  by  persons  in  low  stations,  without  tfce 
advantage  of  a  learned  education,  to  have  esta- 
blished itself  in  the  world,  opposed  as  it  was  by 
every  obstacle  that  could  be  thrown  in  its  way, 
if  it  had  not  been  supported  by  truth  and  the 
God  of  truth  ?  The  belief  of  your  nation  in 
general,  has  answered  an  important  purpose  in 
the  plan  of  Divine  Providence,  as  nothing  else 
could  have  given  so  much  satisfaction,  that  Chris- 


64  CHINESE  RELIGION. 

tianity  received  no  aid  from  civil  government, 
and  that  the  books  of  your  scriptures  are  genuine 
writings,  not  imposed  on  the  world  by  Chris- 
tians. But  this  great  end  being  now  completely 
answered  by  the  continuance  of  your  incredulity 
for  such  a  length  of  time,  I  hope  the  time  is  ap- 
proaching, when,  as  the  apostle  says,  Rom.  xi.  26. 
u4!l  Is-racl  xvill  he  savedy  an  event  which  will  be 
followed  by  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  in 
general.  Your  restoration  cannot  fail  to  con- 
vince the  world  of  the  truth  of  your  religion  ; 
and  in  those  circumstances,  your  conversion  to 
Christianity  cannot  fail  to  draw  after  it  that  of 
the  whole  world  !''  In  the  Spectatovy  No.  495, 
Addison  has  given  a  paper  on  the  history  of  the 
JewSy  written  with  his  accustomed  ingenuity  and 
piety. 


CHINESE  RELIGION. 

THE  Chinese  religion  is  involved  in  great  mys- 
tery. Father  Amiot,  after  the  most  assiduous  re- 
searches on  the  subject^  comes  to  this  conclusion  : 
**  the  Chinese  (says  he)  are  a  distinct  people,  who 
have  still  preserved  the  characteristic  marks  of 
their  first  origin  ;  a  people  whose  primitive  doc- 
trine will  be  found,  by  those  who  take  the  trou- 
ble of  investigating  it  thoroughly,  to  agree    in*  its 


CHRISTIANITY.  65 


essential  parts  with  the  doctrine  of  the  chosen 
people,  before  Moses,  by  the  command  of  God 
himself,  had  consigned  the  explanation  of  it  to 
the  sacred  records  ;  a  people,  in  a  word,  whose 
traditional  knowledge,  when  freed  from  whatever 
the  ignorance  or  the  superstition  of  later  ages  has 
added  to  it^may  be  traced  back  from  age  to  age, 
and  from  epocha  to  epocha,  without  interruption, 
for  the  space  of  four  thousand  years,^  even  to  the 
renewal  of  the  human  race  by  the  grandson  of 
Noah."  The  King,  or  canonical  book  of  the 
Chinese,  ever)?  where  inculcates  the  belief  of  a 
Supreme  Being,  the  author  and  preserver  of  all 
things.  Their  great  philosopher  Confucious  lived 
about  five  hundred  years  before  our  Saviour's 
birth,  and  to  this  day  each  town  has  a  place  con- 
secrated to  his  memory.  See  the  late  Sir  George 
StaimtoTi^s  Embassy^  where  much  information 
is  given  respecting  their  religion.  Amongst  other 
particulars,  it  is  mentioned,  that  the  Chinese  have 
no  religious  establishment. 


CHRISTIJNITY, 

CHRISTIANITY,  (to  which  Judaism  was   in- 
troductory) is  the  last  and  more  perfect  dispensa- 
tion  of  revealed  religion  with  which  God  hath  fa- 
voured the  human  race.     It  was  instituted  by  J£- 
F8 


66  '  CHRISTIANITY. 


SUS  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  who  made  his  ap- 
pearance in  Judea  near  two  thousand  years  ago. 
He  was  born  at  Bethlehem,  brought  up  at  Naza- 
reth, and  crucified  at  Jerusalem.  His  hneage, 
birth,  life,  death,  and  sufferings,  were  minutely 
predicted  by  a  succession  of  the  Jewish  prophets, 
and  his  religion  is  now  spread  over  a  coHsiderable 
portion  of  the  globe.  The  evidences  of  the  chris- 
tian religion  are  comprised  under  historical  testi- 
mony, prophecies,  miracles,  the  internal  evidence 
of  its  doctrines  and  precepts,  and  the  rapidity  of 
its  first  propagation  among  the  Jews  and  the  Gen- 
tiles.— Though  thinking  christians  have  in  every 
age  differed  widel}^  respecting  some  of  the  doc- 
trines of  this  religion,  yet  they  are  fuUj'  agreed 
in  the  divinity  of  its  origin,  and  in  the  benevo- 
lence of  its  tendenc}^ 

Brief  representations  of  the  christian  religion, 
shall  be  transcribed  both  from  the  writings  of 
churchmen  and  dissenters,  well  deserving  of  at- 
tention. 

Bishop  Gibson,  in  his  second  pastoral  letter, 
observes — ^^  it  will  appear  that  the  seve^^al  deno- 
minations of  christians  agree  both  in  the  substance 
of  religion  and  in  the  necessary  enforcements  of 
the  practice  of  it  :  that  the  worid  and  all  things 
in  it  were  created  by  God,  and  are  under  the"  di- 
rection and  government  of  his  all-powerful  hand 
and  all-seeing  eye  ;  that  there  is  an  essential  dif- 


CHRISTIANITY.  67 


ference  between  good  and  evil,  virtue  and   vice  • 
that  there  will  be  a  state  of  future    rewards   and 
punishments,  according  to  our   behaviour   in   this 
life ;  that  Christ  was   a  teacher   sent  from   God, 
and  that  his  apostles  were  divinely  inspired  ;  that 
all  christians  are    bound  to  declare  and   profess 
themselves  to  be  his  disciples ;  that    not   only  the 
exercise  of  the  several   virtues,   but   also  a  belief 
in  Christ  is  necessary,  in  order  to  their    obtaining 
the  pardon  of  sin,  the  favor  of  God,   and    eternal 
life  ;  that  the  worship  of  God  is  to   be  performed 
chiefly  by   the    heart   in    prayers,    praises,    and 
thanksgivings  ;  and   as  to   all  other   points,   that 
they  are  bound  to  live  by  the  rules    which   Christ 
and  his  apostles  have  left  them  in  the    holy    scrip- 
tures.    Here  then  is  a  fixed,  certain,  and   uniform 
rule  of  faith  and  practice,  containing  all  the  most 
necessary  points  of  religion,  established  by  a  di- 
vine sanction,  embraced  as  such  by  ALL    denomi- 
nations of  Christians,   and   in   itself  abundantly 
sufficient  to  preserve  the  knowledge  and   prac- 
tice of  religion  in  the  world.^^^ 

*  Some  cuifious  particulars  respecting  the  religion  of  tie 
Hindoos  ill  the  East  Indiea,  communicated  in  the  Asiatic  Re- 
searches^  seem  to  indicate  that  it  is  a  corruption  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  H<5w  far  the  resemblance  holds,  the  reader  of 
the  Asiatic  Researches  must  fonn  his  own  judgment.  Tliat 
celebrated  work  was  published  under  the  inspection  of  the 
late  Sir  W.  Jones.  The  reader  should  also  consult  Maurice's 
Indian  Antiquitcs,  in  which  performance  the  author  discovers 


6^  CHRISTIANITY^* 

^^—         '  '■'  ■■  ■  ^—w .^ 

Dr*  Sherlock  (who  succeeded   Dr.  Gibson  a? 
Bishop  of  London)  expresses  himself  much  to  the 
same  purpose  in  the  first  volume  of  his  sermons. 
Observing  that  the  books  of  the  New  'Testament 
may  be  considered  as  either  historical^  as  doctri- 
nal, or  as  controversial,  and  some  as  a  mixture 
of  the  two  last,  he  thus  proceeds  : — ^^  By  the 
doctrinal  we  understand  those  matters  of  faith  and 
rules  of  duty  which  do  not  regard  thi^  or  that  par- 
ticular faith,  but  were  intended  for  the  use  of  the 
world,  and  are  to  continue  to  the  end  of  it.     And 
if  there  be  a  clear  law,  and  clearly  expressed  in 
the  world,  this   is  the  law.     Can  words  more 
clearly  express  the  honour  and  worship  we  are  to 
pay  to  God,  or  can  more  familiar  expressions  be 
given  in  this  case  than  are  to  be  found  in  the  gos- 
pel ?  Is  not  idolatry  clearly  condemned  in   the 
gospel  ?  Is  there  any  thing  relating  to  divine  wor- 
ship that  we  yet  want  instructing  in  ?  Are  not  the 
duties  likewise  which  we  owe  to  each  other  made 
evident  and  plain  ;  and  can  there  be  any  dispute 
about  them,  except  what  arises  from  lust,  or  ava- 
rice, or  other  self-interest  ?  As  to  th«  peculistr 
benefits  of  the  gospel,  are  they  not  declared  with- 

a  profound  acquaintance  with  oriental  literature.  Some  single 
lar  specimens,  cf  Egyptian  Antiquities  are  just  deposited  in 
the  British  Museum,  which  may  still  further  illustrate  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Eastern  nations  of  the  world.  An  account  ©f  tliejrk 
^as  lately  ir^rted  in  the  Monthly  MagHiUic. 


CHRISTIANI»TY. 


out  obscurity  ?  Can  you  read  the  gospel^  and 
doubt  whether  Christ  died  for  you  ?  Whether 
God  will  grant  pardon  to  the  penitent^  or  his  as- 
sistance to  those  who  ask  it,  whether  he  will  re- 
ward all  such  in  glory  who  continue  the  faithful 
disciples  of  his  Son  ?  What  other  revelation  do 
we  want  or  can  we  desire y  in  these  great  and 
weighty  concerns  ;  or  w^hat  is  there  wanting  to 
make  up  a  complete  system  of  religion  ?" 

The  immortal  Locke  also  observes — ^^  Who- 
ever  would  attain  to  a  true  knowledge  of  the 
Christian  religion,  in  the  full  and  just  extent  of 
It,  let  him  study  thje  holy  scriptures,  especially 
the  Neiv  Testament^  wherein  are  contained  the 
words  of  eternal  life.  It  has  GoD  for  its  author. 
Salvation  for  its  end^^  and  truth,  without  any 
mixture  of  error,  for  its  matter."  Even  Rous- 
seau, confessed  himself  struck  with  the  majesty 
of  the  scriptures,  the  purity  of  the  gospel,  and  the 
character  of  Jesus  Christ.  See  the  late  Gerard^s 
Dissertations  on  the  Internal  evidence  of  Christia- 
nity, and  also  Dr.  Craig's  Life  of  Christ,  writ- 
ten  with  great  good  sense  and  simplicity^ 

Many  of  the  serious  friends  of  Christianity  are 
alarmed  at  the  progress  of  Atheism  and  Deism, 
both  at  home  and  abroad.  But  let  not  the  friends 
of  truth  be  discouraged.  That  revealed  (as  well 
as  natural)  religion  is  encumbered  with  difficul- 
ties, Uas  never  been  denied  ;  and  this  trait  willj 


70  CHRISTIANITY. 


with  a  considerate  mind,  be  construed  into  a 
presumptive  proof  of  its  authenticity.  '^  It 
would  be  a  miracle  (says  Dr.  Watson,  the  present 
Bishop  of  Landaff)  greater  than  any  we  are  in- 
structed to  believe,  if  there  remained  no  difficul- 
ties ;  if  a  being  with  but  with  five  scanty  iplets  of 
knowledge,  separated  but  yesterday  from  his  mo- 
ther earth,  and  to-day  sinking  again  into  her  bo- 
som, could  fathom  the  depths  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  HijUy  which  is,  which  ivaSy  and 
xvhiah  is  to  come — the  Lord  God  Almighty^  to 
whom  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever  ! 
We  live  in  a  dissolute  but  enlightened  age  ;  tiie 
restraints  of  our  religion  are  ill  suited  to  the  pro- 
fligacy of  our  manners  ;  and  men  are  soon  in- 
duced to  believe  that  system  to  be  false  which 
they  wish  to  find  so  :  that  knowledge,  moreover, 
w^hich  spurns  with  contempt  the  illusions  of  fa- 
naticism, and  the  tyranny  of  superstition,  is  often 
unhappily  misemployed  in  magnifying  every  lit- 
tle difficulty  attending  the  proof  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity,  into  an  irrefragable  argunaent  of  its 
falsehood.  The  Christian  Religion  has  no- 
thing to  apprehend  from  the  strictest  investigation 
©f  the  most  learned  of  its  adversaries ;  it  suffers 
only  from  the  misconceptions  of  solicits  and 
silly  pretenders  to  superior  wisdom  :  a  little  learn- 
ing is  far  more  dangerous  to  the  faith  of  those 
who  possess  it  than  ignorance  itself.      Some  I 


CHRISTIANITY. 


know  aifect  to  believe,  that  as  the  restoration  of 
letters  were  ruinous  to  the  Romish  religion,  so 
the  further  cultivation  of  them  will  be  subversive 
of  Christianity  itself :  of  this  there  is  no  danger. 
It  may  be  subversive  of  the  reliques  of  the  church 
of  Rome,  by  which  other  churches  are  still  pol- 
luted ;  of  persecutions,  of  anathemas,  of  ecclesi- 
astical domination  over  God's  heritage,  of  all  the 
silly  out-works  which  the  pride,  the  superstition, 
and  the  knavery  of  mankind  have  erected  around 
the  citadel  of  our  faith  ;  but  the  CITADEL  itself  is 
founded  on  a  rock,  the  gates  of  hell  cannot  pre- 
vail against  it — its  master-builder  is  God  ;  its 
beauty  will  be  found  ineffable,  and  its  strength 
impregnable,  when  it  shall  be  freed  from  the 
frippery  of  human  ornaments,  and  cleared  from 
the  rubbish  of  human  bulwarks."* 

The  excellent  Dr.  Doddridge  also  thus  happily 
expresses  himself  on  the  subject."  ^^  The  cause 
of  Chrii^tianit}'  has  greatly  gained  by  debate,  and 
the  gospel  comes  like^ne  gold  out  of  the  fur- 
nace^ which  the  more  it  is  tried  the  more  it  is 
approved.     I   own  the   defenders   of  the  gospel 


*  Tliis  prelate  has  published  two  Ser7no?is  in  defence  of 
Reiwaied  R^Hgien^  togf^ther  with  some  Charges  well  worthy  of 
perusal.  His  djccourse  before  the  London  Hospital,  IVIay, 
1802,  contains  :\  popular  il'ustratjdn  of  tl)e  eyidencefi  of  Chris- 
tianity, 


74  CHRISTIANITY. 


have  appeared  with  very  different  degrees  of 
ability  for  the  work,  nor  could  it  be  otherwise 
amongst  such  numbers  of  them  ;  but  on  the 
whole,  though  the  patrons  of  infidelity  have 
been  masters  of  some  wit,  humour,  and  address, 
as  well  as  of  a  moderate  share  of  learning,  and 
generally  of  much  more  than  a  moderate  share 
of  assurance^  yet  so  great  is  the  force  of  truths 
that  (unless  w^e  may  except  those  writers,  who 
have  unhappily  called  for  the  aid  of  the  civil 
imagistrate  in  the  controversy)  I  cannot  recollect 
that  I  have  seen  any  defence  of  the  gospel,  which 
has  notion  the  \vho!e  been  sufficient  to  establish 
it,  notwithstanding  all  the  sophistical  arguments 
of  its  most  subtle  antagonists.  This  is  an  obser- 
vation which  is  continually  gaining  new  strength, 
as  p.ew  assaults  are  made  upon  the  gospel.  And  I 
cannot  forbear  saying,  that  as  if  it  were  by  a  kind 
of  judicial  infatuation^  some  who  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  the  wTetched  cause  of 
infidelit}^,  have  been  permitted  to  fall  into  such 
gross  misrepresentations,  such  senseless  incon- 
sistencies, and  such  palpable  falsehoods,  and  in  a 
word,  into  such  various  and  malignant  super- 
Jluity  of  haughtiness^  that  to  a  wise  and  pious 
mind,  they  must  appear  like  those  venomous 
creatures,  which  are  said  to  carry  an  antidote  in 
their  bowels  against  their  owm  poison,  A  virtu- 
ous and  w^ell-bred  Deist  must  turn  away  from 


CHRISTIANITY.  73 

some  pieces  of  this  kind  with  scorn  and  abhor- 
rence, and  a  Christian  might  almost  be  tempted 
to  wish  that  the  books ,  with  all  their  scandals 
about  them,  might  be  transmitted  to  posterity,  lest 
when  they  come  to  live,  like  the  wTitings  of  some 
of  the  ancient  heathens,  only  in  those  of  their 
learned  and  pious  answerers,  it  should  hardly  be 
credited  that  €ver  the  enemies  of  the  gospel,  in 
such  an  enlightened  age,  should  be  capable  of  so 
much  impiety  and  folly." 

Finally,  to  use  the  words  of  the  late  ingenious 
Mr.  Clarke,  in  his  answer  to  the  question.  Why 
are  y-ou  a  Christian  ? — ^^  Not  because  I  was  born 
in  a  Christian  country,  and  educated  in  Christian 
principles  ;  not  because  I  find  the  illustrious  Ba- 
con, Boyle,  Locke,  Clark,  and  Newton,  among 
the  professors  and  defenders  of  Christianity  ;  nor 
merely  because  the  system  itself  is  so  admirably 
calculated  to  mend  and  exalt  human  nature,  but 
because  the  evidence  accompanying  the  gospel 
has  convinced  me  of  its  truth.  The  secondary 
cause  assigned  by  unbelievers  do  not,  in  my  judg- 
ment, account  for  the  rise,  progress,  and  early 
triumphs  of  the  Christian  religion*  Upon  the 
principles  of  scepticism,  I  perceive  an  effect  with- 
out an  adequate  cause,  I  therefore  stand  acquit- 
ted to  my  own  reason,  though  I  continue  to  be- 
lieye  and  profess  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Arguing  from  effects  to  causes,  I  think  I  have 
G 


74  CHRISTIANITY. 


philosophy  on  my  side.  And  reduced  to  a  choice 
of  difficulties,  I  encounter  not  so  many  in  ad- 
mitting the  miracles  ascribed  to  the  Saviour,  as  in 
the  arbitrary  suppositions  and  conjectures  of  his 
enemies. 

^*  That   there  once  existed  such   a   person  as 
Jesus  Christ  ;  that  he  appeared  in  Judea  in  the 
reign  of  Tiberius  ;  that  he  taught   a  system   of 
morals  superior  to  any  inculcated  in  the  Jewish 
schools;  that  he  was  crucified  at  Jerusalem;  and 
that  Pontus  Pilate  was  the  Roman  governor,  by 
\Vhose  sentence  he  was  condemned  and  executed, 
are  facts  which  no  one   can  reasonably  call  in 
question.       The   most    inveterate    Deists    admit 
them  without  difficulty.     And,  indeed,  to  dispute 
these  facts,  would  be  giving  the  lie  to  all  history. 
As  well  might  we  deny  the  existence  of  Cicero 
as  of  a  person  by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.     And 
with  equal  proprieiy  'might  we  call  in  question 
the  orations  of  the  former  as  the  discourses  of  the 
fatten     We  are  morally  certain  that  the  one  en- 
tertained the   Romans  with  his   eloquence,  and 
that  the  other  enlightened  the  Jews  with  his  wis- 
dom.    But  it  is  unnecessary  to  labour  these  points, 
because  they  are  generally  conceded.     They  who 
affect  to  despise    the   Evangelists   and  Apostles, 
profess  to  reverence  Tacitus,  Suetonius,  and  Pliny, 
And  these  eminent  Romans  bear  testimony  to  se- 
veral particulars  which  relate  to   the  person  of 


CHRISTIANITY.  ?  9& 

Jesus  Christ,  his  influence  as  the  founder  of  a 
sect,  and  his  crucifiction.  From  a  deference  to 
human  authority,  all  therefore  acknowledge  that 
the  Christian  religion  derived  its  name  from  Jesus 
Christ.  And  many  are  so  just  to  its  merits,  as  to 
admit  that  he  taught  better  than  Confucius,  and 
practised  better  than  Socrates  or  Plato.  But  I 
confess  my  creed  embraces  many  more  articles. 
I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  was  not  only  a  teacher 
of  virtue,  but  that  he  had  a  special  commission  to 
teach.  I  believe  that  his  doctrines  are  not  the 
works  of  human  reason,  but  of  divine  communi- 
cation to  mankind.  I  believe  that  he  was  autho- 
rized by  God  to  proclaim  forgiveness  to  the  pen- 
itent, and  to  reveal  a  state  of  immortal  glory  and 
blessedness  to  those  who  fear  God  -and  work 
righteousness.  I  believe,  in  short,  the  whole 
Evangelical  history,  and  of  consequence  the  di- 
vine original  of  Christianity,  and  the  sacred  au- 
thority of  th^  gospel.  Others  may  reject  these 
things  as  the  fictions  of  humour,  art,  or  policy^ 
but  I  assent  to  them  from  a  full  conviction  of 
their  truth.  The  objections  of  infidelity  have 
often  shocked  my  feelmgs,  but  have  never  yet 
shaken  my  faith. 

^^  To  come  then  to  the  question — ^Why  ARE 
VOU  A  CHUISTIAN  ?  I  anawer,  because  the 
Christian  Religion  carries  with  it  internal 
xaarks  of  its  truth  ;  because  n^t  only  without  the 


76  CHRISTIANITY. 


aid,  but  in  opposition  to  the  civil  authority,  in 
opposition  to  the  wit,  the  argument,  and  insolence 
of  its  enemies,  it  made  its  way,  and  gained  an 
estabhshment  in  the  world  ;  because  it  exhibited 
the  accomplishment  of  some  prophecies,  and  pre- 
sents others,  w^hich  have  been  since  fulfilled  ; 
and  because  its  author  displayed  an  example,  and 
performed  w^orks,  which  bespeak  not  merely  a 
superior,  but  a  divine  character.  Upon  these  sev- 
eral facts  I  ground  my  belief  as  a  CHRISTIAN. 
And  till  the  evidence  on  which  they  rest,  can  be 
invalidated  by  counter-evidence,  I  must  retain 
my  principles  and  m.y  profession." 

These  extracts  from  Sherlock^  Gibsony  Locke^ 
Watsoiiy  DoddridgCj  and  Clarke  have  been  here 
5^elected,  because  they  serve  to  illustrate  in  a  few 
words  both  the  nature  and  evidences  of  Christi- 
anity. Thus  says  an  ingenious  writer,  the  Reve- 
rend Robert  Hall,  of  Cambridge — ^^  When  at  the 
distance  of  more  than  half  a  century  Christianity 
was  assaulted  by  a  Woolston,  a  Tindal,  and  a 
Morgan,  it  w^as  ably  supported  both  by  clergy- 
men of  the  established  church  and  writers  amongst 
Protestant  Dissenters  ;  the  labours  of  a  Clarke 
and  a  Butler  w^ere  associated  with  those  of  a 
Doddridge,  a  Leland^  and  a  Lardner,  with  such 
equal  reputation  and  success,  as  to  make  it  evi- 
dent that  the  intrinsic  excellence  of  religion  needs 
not  the  aid  of  external  appeadages,  that  with  or 


CHRISftlANITV:  T7- 

without  a  dowry  her  charms  are  of  equal  force  to 
fix  and  engage  the  heart**' 

It  would,  however,  be  as  useless  as  it  is  im^ 
possible,  to  refer  the  reader  to  all  the  principal 
treatises  which  have  been  written  at  different  pe- 
riods for  the  defence  and  illustration  of  the  Chris- 
tian  religion.  But  a  few  ought  to  be  mentioned 
in  justice  to  the  subject  ;  and  those  alone  shall  be 
specified  which  are  the  easiest  of  access.  Hhd 
student  may  therefore  consult  Lardner^s  CredU 
bilityy  Wats-on^s  Theological  TractSy  Priestley^a 
Institutes  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion^ 
Butler^s  Analogy,  and  both  Maltby^s  Illustra- 
tion^ and  Paley^s  View  of  the  Evidences  of 
Christianity*  For  the  use  of  private  Christians, 
take  Doddridge^s  Three  Sermons  on  the  Evi- 
dences of  the  Christian  Religion,  Plain  Reasons 
for  being  a  Christian,  and  an  answer  to  the 
question.  Why  are  you  a  Christian,  by  an  Amer- 
ican Divine,  but  reprinted  in  this  country.  Nor 
can  it  be  improper  here  to  mention  a  small  piece 
just  publised  by  Mr.  Richard  Allchin,  of  Maidstone, 
entitled  ^^  A  Familiar  Address  to  young  Persons 
on  the  Truth  and  Importance  of  Christianity.^^ 
The  substance  of  Volumes  is  comprised  within 
about  thirty  pages — drawn  up  wnth  neatness  and 
simplicity.  And  solemnly  doth  it  concern  both 
ministers  and  parents,  as  they  are  accouBtable  at 
G2 


98.  M^HOMETANISIM. 

'  ■    ■      '   ■        I.  .     ■    ■  >,■■,, 

the  tribunal  of  Heaven,  to  furnish  the  RISING 
GENERATION  with  religious  principles^  which, 
by  operating  on  the  springs  of  human  conduct^ 
will  insure  their  temporal  and  eternal  felicity. 


1 


MAHOMETANISM. 

MAHOMETANISM  is  the  religion  of  Mafto- 
mety  who  was  born  in  57 1,  at  Mecca,  a  city  of 
Arabia,  and  died  at  Medina  631.  His  system  is 
a  compound  of  Paganism,  Judaism,  and  Christi- 
anity ;  and  the  Alcoran,  w^hich  is  their  Bible,  is 
held  in  great  reverence.  It  is  replete  with  absurd 
representations,  and  is  supposed  to  be  written  by 
a  Jew.  The  most  eloquent  passage  is  allowed  to 
te  the  following,  where  God  is  introduced,  bid- 
ding the  waters  of  the  deluge  to  cease.  ^^  Earth 
sw^allow  up  the  waters  ;  heaven  draw  up  those 
thou  hast  poured  out  :  immediately  the  waters 
retreated,  the  command  of  God  was  obeyed,  the 
ark  rested  on  the  mountains,  and  these  words 
v/ere  heard — woe  to  the  wicked  !^^  Lust,  ambi- 
tion, and  cruelty,  are  the  most  prominent  traits  in 
Mahomet's  conduct  ;  and  Voltaire  has  written  a 
fine  tragedy  on  this  subject.  The  great  doctrine 
4ff  the  Alcoran  is  unity  of  God,  which,  together 
with  tike  mission  of  Christ^is  strongly  ic^isted 


MAHOMETANISM.  99 

upon  by  the  prophet.  Indeed  he  persuaded  his 
followers  that  he  vJSkS  the  Paracelete  or  comforter 
which  Christ  had  promised  his  disciples.  In  this 
respect  the  Mahometan  religion  constitutes  a 
powerful  collateral  proof  of  the  truth  of  ehristia- 
nity.  Nor  has  this  circumstance,  suggested  to 
me  by  a  worthy  friend,  been  sufficiently  consi- 
dered by  christians.  Thus  we  may  extract  good 
from  evil,  and  it  is  our  duty  to  avail  ourselves  of 
every  thing  which  tends  to  augment  the  eviden- 
ces  of  our  holy  religion.  Dean  Prideaux  hath 
largely  proved,  in  his  letter  to  the  Deists  of  the 
Present  Age,  that  there  are  seven  marks  of  a» 
imposture,  that  these  all  belong  to  Mahometan- 
ism,  and  that  not  one  of  them  can  be  charged  o» 
Christianity.  See  Sale's  Alcoran,  Prideaux'3 
Eife  of  Mahomet,  Dr.  Whitens  Sermons  at  the 
Bampton  Lecture,  and  Dr.  Toulmin's  excellent 
Dissertations  on  the  internal  Evidence  of  Christie 
anity,  and  on  the  Character  of  Christ  compared 
with  that  of  other  founders  of  religion  or  philo- 
sophy. Mr.  Gibbon,  in  his  Roman  History, 
gives  the  following  curious  specimen  of  Maho- 
metan divinity  ;  for  the  Prophet  propagated  his 
religion  by  force  of  arms  : — ^^  The  sword  (sakh 
Mahomet  is  the  key  of  heaven  and  of  hell  ;  a 
drop  of  blood  shed  in  the  cause  of  God,  or  a 
•ight  speat  in  arms^  is  of  more  avatt  than  two 


80  MAHOMETANISM. 

months  of  fasting  or  prayer.  Whosoever  falls  ^ 
in  battle,  his  sins  are  forgiven  at  the  day  of  judg^ 
ment ;  his  wounds  shall  be  resplendent  as  vermil- 
ion, and  odoriferous  as  musk,  the  loss  of  his 
limbs  shall  be  supplied  by  the  wings  of  angels  and 
cherubims.'* 

*^  I  never  wondered  (says  an  ingenious  author) 
that  the  attempts  of  Mahomet  to  establish  his  re- 
ligion w^ere  crowned  with  success.  When  I 
peruse  the  Koran,  and  examine  the  materials  of 
w^hich  it  15  composed ;  when  I  observe  how  much 
the  work  is  indebted  to  the  Jewish  and  Christiaa 
revelations  ;  when  I  survey  the  particular  part 
which  Mahomet  or  his  agents  supplied  ;  when  I 
see  with  how  much  art  tlie  whole  is  accommo- 
dated to  the  opinions  and  habits  of  the  Jews, 
Christians,  and  Pagans  ;  when  I  consider  what 
indulgencies  it  grants,  and  what  future  scenes  it 
imfolds  ;  when  I  advert  to  the  peculiar  circum-? 
stances  of  the  times,  w^hen  its  author  formed  the 
vast  design  of  assuming  the  royal  and  prophetic 
character;  and  more  than  all,  when  I  contem*; 
plate  the  reformer  at  the  head  of  a  conquering 
fjjrmy,  the  Koran  in  One  hand,  and  in  the  other  a 
sword,  I  cannot  be  surprized  at  the  civil  and  re- 
ligious revolution,  which  has  immortalized  his 
name.  With  his  advantages,  how  could  he  fail 
of  success?  Every  thing  favoured   the  fnterpriz^r 


MAHOMETANISM.  81 

The  nations  beheld  a  military  apostle.  And  they 
who  were  unconvinced  by  his  arguinents^  trenn- 
bled  at  his  sword.^-^ 

Having  given  this  preliminary  account  of  Jthe- 
ism,  DeisTUy  Theophilanthropism,  Judaism^ 
Christianity y  and  Mahometanismy  we  now  pro- 
ceed to  the  DENOMINATIONS  of  the  Christian 
w^orld.  In  the  first  ages  of  Christianity  there 
were  various  sects  which  have  long  ago  sunk 
into  oblivion^  and  whose  names  therefore  exist 
only- in  the  pages  of  ecclesiastical  history.  It 
13  not  our  purpose  even  to  glance  at  these  anr 
eient  sects,  but  only  briefly  to  notice  those  whicli 
in  the  present  day  attract  our  attention.  The 
most  distinguished  may  be  included  under  the  fol- 
lowing arrangement  : — Opinions  respecting  the 
person  of  Christ  ;  respecting  the  means  and 
measure  of  God's  favor;  and  respecting  Church 
Government  and  the  administration  of  ceremc 
nies. 


*  MaTiometanism  distributes  itself  into  two  general  parts 
Faith,  and  Practice — the  former  containing  six  branches — belief 
in  God  ;  in  his  angels  ;  in  his  scriptures  ;  in  his  prophets  ;  in  the 
resurrection  and  final  judgment  ;  in  the  divine  decrees — the 
latter  relating  to  prayer  with  wasliing — ahns— fasting — pilgriR>. 
age  to  Mecca,  and  ckcumcision^. 


82  TRINITARIANo* 

I. 

OPINIONS  RESPECTING  THE  PERSON  OF  CHRIST 

JESUS  Christ  being  the  medium  by  which 
the  Deity  hath  imparted  a  knowledge  of  his  will 
to  mankind,  the  person  of  Christ  has  been  eagerly 
investigated,  and  the  nature  of  God  rendered  the 
subject  of  rude  and  unhallowed  controversy. 
This  has  filled  the  religious  world  with  violent 
contentions,  nor  are  they  likely  to  be  brought 
speedily  to  a  termination.  In  the  mean  time,  it 
would  become  us  to  discuss  this  topic  with  mo- 
desty and  humility.  It  is,  however,  my  pre- 
sent province  to  state  the  existing  opinions  re- 
specting this  abstruse  subject  ;  it  shall  be  done 
in  a  few  words,  and  I  hope  with  a  degree  of 
accuracy. 


TRINITJRIANS. 

THE  Trinitarians  believe  the  doctrine  of  a 
Trinity,  by  which  is  generally  understood,  that 
there  are  three  distinct  persons  in  one  undivided 
Godhead — the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost.  The  word  Trinity  is  not  to  be  found  in 
the  Bible,  but  is  a  scholastic  term,  derived  from 
•the  Latin  word  Trinitas^  denoting  a  three-foW^ 


ATHANAS'IANS.  83 

unity.  Calvin  himself  reprobates  the  term,  as 
being  barbarouSy  and  of  human  invention.  The 
most  learned  writers  entertain  such  various  and 
contradictory  sentiments  respecting  this  mystery, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  know  to  whom  the  term 
Trinitarian  is  justly  applicable.  Waterland,  Howe^ 
Sherlock,  Pearson,  Burnet,  Beveridge,  Wallis, 
and  Watts,  have  each  of  them  separate  opinions 
on  this  subject.  Dr.  Priestly,  how^ever,  thinks 
Trinitarians  reducible  to  two  classes  ;  those  who 
believe  that  there  is  no  proper  di^^inity  in  Christ, 
beside  that  of  the  Father  ;  and  the  class  of  Tri- 
theists^  who  maintain  that  there  are  three  equal 
and  distinct  Gods. 


ATHANASIANS. 

NEARLY  allied  to  this  latter  class  are  the 
AthanasianSy  a  name  derived  from  Athanasius,  a 
father  of  the  Christian  church,  who  lived  in  the 
fourth  century.  Tlie  creed  which  bears  his 
name  in  the  Common  Prayer-Book,  is  not  of 
his  composition  ;  and  so  little  attached  was  Arch- 
bishop Tillotson  to  it,  that  in  writing  to  Dr.  Bur- 
net, the  historian,  he  says,  ^^  I  wish  we  were 
well-rid  of  it.''  The  episcopal  church  in  Amer- 
ica has  rejected  it. — Were  the  account  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  contained  in  this  creed 


B4  ATHAN  ASIANS. 

ever  so  just  ar>d  satisfactory,  yet  its  damnatory 
clauses -are  highly  exceptionable,  and  have  given' 
great  offence  to  some  of  the  more  sensible  and 
worthy  members  of  the  established  church.  On 
this  subject.  Dr.  Prettyman,  in  hk"^  Elements, 
speaks  with  candour,  and  moderation — ^^  Great 
objection  has  been  made  to  the  clauses  of  this 
creed,  which  denounce  eternal  damnation  against 
those  who  do  not  believe  the  Catholic  faith  as 
hene  stated  ;  and  it  certainly  is  to  be  lamented^ 
that  assertions  of  so  peremptory  a  nature,  unex- 
plained and  unqualified^  should  have  been  used 
in  a;iy  human  composition."  The  prelate  then 
endeavours  to  account  for  the  introduction  of 
such  clauses  hito  the  creed.;  and  then  adds  :— 
'^  We  know  that  different  persons  have  deduced 
different  and  even  opposite  doctrines  from  the 
words  of  Scripture,  and  consequently  there  must 
be  many  errors  among  Christians  ;  but  since  the 
gospel  no  where  informs  us,  what  degree  of  error 
will  exclude  from  eternal  happiness — I  am  ready 
to  acknowledge  that  in  my  judgment,  notwith- 
standing the  authority  of  former  times,  our  church 
would  have  acted  more  wisely  and  more  consist- 
ently with  the  general  principles  of  mildness  and 
tolerationj  if  it  had  not  adopted  the  damnatory 
clauses  of  the  Athanasian  creed  !  Though  I 
firmly  believe,  that  the  doctrines  of  thi^  creed, 
are  all  founded  in  Scripture^  I  cannot  but  conceive 


ATHANASIANSr.  85 

it  to  be  both  unnecssary  and  presumptuous  to 
say,  that  *^  except  every  one  do  keep  them  whole 
and  undefiled,  without  doubt  he  shall  perish  ever- 
lastingl}^" 

Mr.  Broughton,  in  his  Dictioruiry  of  all  Reli- 
gions, under  the  article  Trinity,  has  the  follow- 
ing paragraph,  which  may  assist  the  reader 
on  this  most  abstruse  subject.  ^^  The  doctrine 
of  the  Tkinity,  as  professed  in  the  Christian 
church,  is  briefly  this  :  that  there  is  ONE  GOD  in 

THREE  distinct  PERSONS,  FATHER,  SON,  and 
HOLY  GHOST  ;  person  signifying  her^  the  same 
as,  essence,  with  a  particular  manner  of  subsist- 
ence, which  the  Greek  fathers  called  hypostasis, 
taking  it  for  the  incommunicable  property  that 
makes  a  person.  The  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  are  believed  to  be  thre  distinct  persons  in 
the  divine  nature;  because  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in 
speaking  of  these  three,  so  distinguish  them  from 
one  another,  as  we  use  in  common  speech  to 
distinguish  three  several  persons.  There  are 
many  instances  to  this  purpose,  particularly  the 
form  of  administering  the  sacrament  of  bap- 
tism, which  runs,  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  and  that  so- 
lemn benediction  with  which  St.  Paul  concludes 
his  second  epistle  to  the  Corinthians  :  The 
Grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  &c.  And  the 
H 


86  ATHANASIANS. 

— ^ '•  ^'  '  

three    Witnesses  in   Heaven^  mentioned  by  St. 
John.* 

^^  Each  of  these  three  persons  is  affirmed  to  be 
God,  because   the  names,  properties,  and    ope- 
rations of  God,  are  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  attri- 
buted  to   each  of  them.     The    divinity   of  the 
Father  is  out  of  the  question.     That  of  the  Son, 
is  proved  from  the  following  texts,  among  many 
others  :  St.  John  says.  The  word  xms  God  :  St. 
Paul,   that  God  ivas  manifested  in   the  Jlesh  ; 
that  Christ  is  over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever. 
Eternity  is  attributed  to  the  Son  :    The  Son  hath 
life  in  himstlf     Perfection  of  knowledge. — ^4s 
the   Father  knoweth  me,  so  know  I  the  Father, 
The    Creation    of  all  things — Ml    things    were 
made   by  him,   and   ivithout   him  was  not  any 
thin^c  made  that  was  made*     And  we  are  com- 
manded  to   honour   the   Son  as  zve   honour  the 
Father.     The   divinity  of  the   Holy  Ghost  rests 
upon  the  following  proofs,  among  others — Lying 
to  the  Holy  Ghost   is  called  lying   to   God.     Be- 
cause  Christians  are   the   temples   of  the   Holy 
Ghost,  they  ar-e  said  to  be  the    temples  of  God* 


*  Tliis  passa^  has  for  some  time  been  deemed  aii  intcrpo^ 
laiion^  and  Dr.  Prettymaii  gives  it  up  in  his  Elements  of  Theology, 
Air.  Porson,  a  profound  Greek  scholar,  has,  it  is  thought, 
^n  his  controversy  vvith  Ardideacon  Tra\ifc;  to  have  settled  thf» 
subject. 


ATHANASIANS.  87 


His  teaching  all   thingSy  his  guiding^  into   all 
truth,  his  telling  things  to  come,  his  searching 
all  things,  even  the  deep  things  of  God,  &c.  are 
alledged   as  plain  characters  of  his  divinity.     Be- 
sides he  is  joined  with  God  the  Father,  as  an  ob- 
ject   of  faith   and   worship   in  baptism  and  the 
apostolical   benediction.     This  doctrine  is   called 
a  mystery,   because  we   are  not  able  to  compre- 
hend   the   particular   manner  of  existence  of  the 
three  persons  in  the   divine  Nature."     Dr.  Jere- 
miah Taylor  remarks  with  great  piet}^,  that  ^^  He 
who  goes   about  to  speak  of  the  mystery  of  the 
Trinity,  and  does  it  by  words  and  names  of  man's 
invention,  talking  of  essences  and  existences,  hy- 
postases and  personalities,  priorities  in  co-equali- 
ties, and  unity  in   pluralities,  may  amuse  himself 
and  build  a  tabernacle  in  his  head,  and  talk  some- 
thing  he   knows  not  what  ;  but   the  good  man, 
who  feels  the  power  of  the  Father,  and  to  whom 
the  Son  has  become  wisdom,  sanctification,  and 
redemption,  in  whose  heart   the  love  of  the  Spl- 
it of  God   is  shed   abroad  ;  this  man,  though  he 
understands  nothing  of  what  is  unintelligible,  j^et 
he  alone   truly  understands  the  Christian  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity." 

It  were  well,  if  before  we  made  up  our  mind 
on  this  intricate  article  of  faith,  we  were  care- 
fully to  read  Dr.  \¥atts's  Essay  on  the  Importance 
of  any  Hum.an  Schemes  to   explain  the  Doctrine 


8&  ATHANASIANS. 

_  .        .  1      -  ■  ''  r: 

gf  the  Trinity.  This  essay  shews,  first  that  no 
such  scheme  of  explication  is  necessary  to  salva- 
tion ;  second!}',  that  it  may  yet  be  of  great  use 
to  the  Christian  church  ;  and,  thirdly,  that  all 
such  explications  ought  to  be  proposed  with  mo- 
desty to  the  world,  and  never  imposed  on  the 
conscience. 

Bishop  Burnet  tells  us,  that  before  the  refor- 
mation it  was  usual  in  England  to  have  pictures 
of  the  Trinity.  God  the  Father  was  represented 
in  the  shape  of  an  old  man  with  a  triple  crown, 
and  rays  about  his  head  !  The  Son,  in  another 
part  of  the  picture,  looked  like  a  young  man, 
with  a  single  crown  on  his  head,  and  a  radiant 
countenance.  The  blessed  Virgin  was  betw^een 
them,  in  a  sitting  posture  ;  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
under  the  appearance  of  a  dove,  spread  his  wings 
over  her.  This  picture,  he  tells  us,  is  still  to  be 
seen  in  a  prayer-book  printed  in  the  year  1526, 
according  to  the  ceremonial  of  Salisbury.  Skip- 
pon  also  tells  us,  there  is  at  Padua  a  representa- 
tion of  the  Trinit}^,  being  the  figure  of  an  old 
man  with  three  faces  and  three  beards.  How 
contrary  are  these  absurd  representations  of  the 
Deity  to  the  sublime  declaration  of  our  Saviour, 
John  iv.  24.  ^^  God  is  a  spirit,  and  they  that 
woYship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in 
truth/' 


SABELLIANS.  89 

SJBELLIJNS. 

THE  Sahellian  reduces  the  three  persons  in 
the  Trinity  to  three  characters  or  relations.  This 
has  been  called  by  some  a  modal  Trinity,  and 
the  persons  who  hold  it  Modalists.  Sabeliius, 
the  founder  of  the  sect,  espoused  the  doctrine  in 
the  third  century.  Of  his  tenets,  the  accounts 
are  various.  Some  say,  he  taught  that  the  Fa- 
ther, Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  were  one  subsist- 
ence, and  one  person,  with  three  names  ;  and 
that  in  the  Old  Testament  the  Deity  delivered 
the  law  as  Father,  in  the  new  Testament  dwelt 
among  men  as  the  Son,  and  descended  on  the 
Apostles  as  the  Holy  Spirit,  This  opinion  gains 
ground  in  the  principality  of  Wales.  "  The  Sa- 
bellians  (says  Mr.  -Broughton)  make  the  Word 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  only  virtues,  emana- 
tions, or  functions  of  the  Deity.  They  held  that 
he  who  in  heaven  is  the  Father  of  all  things, 
descended  into  the  Virgin,  became  a  child,  and 
was  born  of  her  as  a  Son^  and  that  having  ac- 
complished the  mystery  of  our  salvation,  he  dif- 
fused himself  on  the  Apostles  in  tongues  of  fire, 
and  was  then  denominated  the  Holy  Ghost. 
They  resembled  God  to  the  sun,  the  illuminative 
virtue  or  quality  whereof  was  the  Wordy  and  its 
charming  virtue  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  word  they 
H  2 


90  SABELLIANS. 


taught  was  darted  like  a  divine  ray,  to  accom- 
plish the  work  of  redemption  ;  and  that  being  re- 
ascended  to  heaven,  as  the  ray  returns  to  its 
source,  the  warmth  of  the  Father  was  commu- 
nicated after  a  like  manner  to  the  apostles.  Such 
■was  the  language  of  the  Sabellians." 

Between  the  system  of  Sabellianism,  and  what 
is  termed  the  Indwelling  scheme,  there  appears 
to  be  a  considerable  resemblance,  if  it  be  not  pre- 
cisely the  same,  difftrently  explained.  The  In- 
dwelling scheme  is  chiefly  founded  on  that  pas- 
sage in  the  New  Testament,  where  the  apostle, 
speaking  of  Christ,  saj-s — ^^  In  him  dwelleth  all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily."  Dr.  Watts, 
tow^ards  the  close  of  his  life,  became  a  Sabellian, 
and  wrote  several  pieces  in  defence  of  it.*  His 
sentiments  on  the  Trinity  appear  to  have  been, 
that  ^^  the  Godhead,  the  Deity  itself,  personally 
distinguished  as  the  Father,  was  united  to  the 
iTian  Christ  Jesus,  in  consequence  of  which  union 
or   md'xelling  cf  the  Godhead,  he  became  prop- 

*  See  Dr.  W^atts's  last  thoughts  on  the  Trinity,  in  a  pam- 
pJ:ilet  just  republished  by  the  Reverend  Gabriel  Watts,  now  of 
Cliichegter.  It  v/as  printed  by  the  Doctor  in  the  year  1745, 
only  tliree  years  before  his  death.  It  is  on  tliis  account  liighjy 
valuable,  and  ought  in  justice  to  that  great  ajid  good  man,  to 
have  been  inserted  in  the  recent  edition  of  his  works.  Fruin 
this  piece  it  con  trover  tibly  appears  that  Dr.  Watts  had  di-3c?.rd- 
ed  the  common  notion  cf  the  Trinitv. 


ARIANS.  01 


erly  God."  Mr.  Palmer,  in  his  useful  edition 
of  Johnson^s  Life  of  Watts,  observes  that  Dr, 
Watts  conceived  this  union  to  have  subsisted  be- 
fore the  Saviour's  appe  arance  in  the  flesh,  and 
that  the  human  soul  of  Christ  existed  with  the 
Father  from  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  : 
on  which  ground  he  maintains  the  real  descent 
of  Christ  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  the  whole 
scene  of  his  humiliation,  which  he  thought  in. 
compatible  with  the  common  opinion  concerning 
him.  Dr.  Doddridge  is  supposed  to  have  been 
of  these  sentiments,  and  also  Mr.  Benjamin 
Fawcet,  of  Kidderminster,  who  published  a  val- 
uable piece,  entitled  Candid  Reflections  concewr 
ing  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 


JRIJNS. 


THE  Arian  derives  his  name  from  Arius,  e 
Presbyter  of  Alexandria,  who  flourished  abottt 
the  year  315,  and  the  propagation  of  w^hose  doc- 
trine occasioned  the  famous  council  of  Nice,  as- 
sembled by  Constantine,  in  the  year  325.  Arius 
owned  Christ  to  be  God  in  a  subordinate  sense, 
and  considered  his  death  to  be  a  propitiation  for 
sin.  The  Arians  acknowledge  that  the  Son  was 
the  word,  though  they  deny  its  being  eternal  ; 
contending,  that  it  had  only  been  created  pricl- 


92  ARIAN9. 


to  all  other  things.  Christ,  say  they,  had  no- 
thing of  man  in  him,  except  the  flesh,  with, 
which  the  Logos,  or  word,  spoken  of  by  the 
apostle  John,  was  united,  which  supplied  the 
rest.  The  Arians,  though  they  deny  that  Christ 
is  the  eternal  Gody  yet  they  contend  against  the 
Socinians  for  his  pre-exist ence.  His  pre-exist- 
ence  they  found  on  the  two  following  passages, 
among  many  others  :— Before  Abraham  %vas^ 
I  am.  And  the  prayer  of  Jesus — *'  Glorify  me 
with  that  glory  xvhich  I  had  with  thee  before 
the  world  began.  These  and  other  texts  of  a 
similar  kind,  are  in  their  opinion,  irrefragable 
proofs  that  Christ  did  actually  exist  in  another 
state  before  he  was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  in 
the  land  of  Judea.  This  matter  has  been  argued 
by  various  w^riters  ;  and  names  of  the  first  char- 
acter have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  Arian 
controversy.  It  has  also  been  strongly  urged  by 
the  '  advocates  of  Arianism,  that  the  pre-existent 
dignity  of  Christ,  accounts  for  that  splendid  ap- 
paratus of  prophecies  and  miracles,  w^ith  which 
the  mission  of  the  Messiah  w^as  attended.  In 
modern  time?,  the  term  Arian  is  indiscriminately 
applied  to  those  who  consider  Jesus  simply  sub- 
ordinate to  the  Father.  Some  of  them  believe 
Christ  to  have  been  the  creator  of  the  world  ; 
but  they  ALL  maintain  that  he  existed  previous 
to   his    incarnation,   though   in    his    pre-existent 


ARIANS.  93 


State  they  assign  him  different  degrees  of  dignity. 
Hence  the  appellation  High  and  Low  Arian. 

That  valuable  practical  writer,  Mr.  Job  Orton^ 
though  he  never  published  any  thing  explicitly 
on  the  Trinity,  is  supposed,  during  the  latter 
period  of  his  life,  to  have  entertained  these  sen- 
timents of  the  person  of  Christ,  He  used  to  re- 
commend the  two  following  tracts,  as  having 
given  him  the  most  satisfaction  on  that  subject — 
A  Sober  and  Charitable  Disquisition  on  the  Im- 
portance of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity ^  by  Si- 
mon Brown  ;  and  An  Essay  towards  a  Demon- 
stration of  the  Scripture  Trinity^  by  Dr.  Scott  : 
a  new  edition  of  which  has  been  published  by 
the  venerable  Mr.  Samuel  Goadby.  Of  the  sys- 
tem of  Arianism,  Dr.  Clarke,  in  his  Scripture 
Doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  Mr.  Henry  Taylor 
(for  many  years  Vicar  of  Portsmouth)  in  his 
learned  work,  entitled  Ben  MordecaVs  Apology^ 
Mr.  Tompkins,  in  his  Mediator,  and  Mr.  Hop- 
kins, in  his  Appeal  to  the  Common  Sense  of  all 
Christian  People,  have  been  deemed  the  most 
able  advocates.  Mr.  Whitson,  the  famous  astro- 
nomer and  translator  of  Josephus,  revived  this 
controversy  in  the  begining  of  the  last  century. 
Soon  after.  Dr.  Clarke  published  his  celebrated 
treatise,  entitled,  the  Scripture  Doctrine  of  the 
Trinity,  which  was  disapproved  of  by  the  con- 


94  ARIAN?, 

vocation,  and  answered  by  Dr.  Waterland,  who 
had  been  charged  with  verging  towards  Trithe- 
ism,  Erasmus,  (says  the  Encyclopaedia  Britan- 
nica)  "  seemed  to  have  aimed  in  some  measure 
to  restore  Arianism  at  the  beginning  of  the  16th 
century,  in  his  Commentaries  on  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Accordingly  he  w^as  reproached  b}'  his 
adversaries  with  Arian  interpretations  and  glosses, 
Arian  tenets,  &c.  To  which  he  made  little  an- 
swer, save  that  there  was  no  heresy  more  tho- 
roughly extinct  than  that  of  the  Arians."  But 
Erasmus  is  known  to  have  been  exceedingly^  tim- 
id his  disposition,  and  confessed  in  one  of  his 
letters  to  a  friend,  that  he  possessed  not  the  spirit 
of  a  martyr.  Of  the  truth  of  this  declaration, 
there  were  many  proofs. 

The  history  of  the  Arian  controversy,  in  mod- 
ern times,  may  be  found  in  a  pamphlet,  entitled, 
*^  An  account  of  all  the  Considerable  Books  and 
Pamphlets  that  have  been  wrote  on  either  side, 
in  the  controversy  concerning  the  Trinity,  from 
the  year  1712;  in  which  is  also  contained  an 
Account  of  the  Pamphlets  written  this  last  year 
on  each  side  b}^  the  Dissenters,  to  the  end  of  the 
year  1719  :  published  at  London,  1720. 

^Thomas  Emlyn,  a  pious  and  learned  divine, 
should  be  mentioned  here,  since  he  has  been  ren- 
dered  memorable  for  his  sufferings  in  the  causfe 


ARIANS.  *       93 

of  Arianism.  He  was  a  dissenting  minister  in 
Dublin,  and  there  shamefully  persecuted  on  ac- 
count of  his  religious  sentiments.  He  rejected 
the  common  notion  of  the  Trinity,  but  firmly 
maintained  the  pre-existence  of  Christ.  He  died 
in  London,  1741,  and  his  works  were  published 
by  his  son,  an  eminent  counsellor,  in  three  vol- 
umes :  to  which  are  prefixed  memoirs  of  the 
author. 

^Dr.  Price,  in  his  sermons  on  the  Christian 
doctrine,  has  taken  great  pains  in  explaining  and 
defending  the  principles  of  Ari;inism.  He  states 
at  large  the  nature  of  the  doctrine,  and  enume- 
rates the  advantages  arising  from  it  in  the  expli- 
cation of  the  Scriptures.  To  these  discoures, 
the  reader  is  referred,  and  whatever  he  may  think 
of  the  arguments  urged  in  favour  of  that  system, 
he  must  admire  the  truly  Christian  spirit  with 
which  they  are  written. 

Some  few  Arians,  and  most  of  the  present  So- 
citiians  add  to  their  creed  the  doctrines  of  Neces- 
sity, Materialism,  and  Universal  Restoration, 
though  these  tenets  are  "ty  no  means  peculiar  to 
them.  Towards  the  close  of  this  Sketch  will  be 
found  an  explanation  of  Universal  Restoration  : 
and  some  little  account  shall  be  here  given  of 
Necessity  and  Materialism. 


M  NECESSARIANS. 


NECESSJRIJNS. 

THE  doctrine  of  Necessity  regards  the  origin 
©f  human  actions,  and  the  specific  mode  of  the 
divine  government.  It  teaches  that  all  actions, 
feoth  good  and  bad,  are  strictly  necessary — thus 
every  circumstance  cannot  be  otherwise  than  it 
is  throughout  the  creation  of  God.  Much  con- 
troversy has  there  been  on  this  abstruse  sub- 
ject, Collins,  Priestly,  and  Crombie  ;  Palmer,. 
Price,  and  Gregory,  are  authors  who  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  the  controversy  ;  the 
three  former  being  for,  and  the  three  latter 
against  Necessity.  Doctor  Crombie  and  Doctor 
Gregory  are  even  now  agitating  the  question, 
and  therefore  more  pieces  may  be  expected  from 
them  on  the  subject.  The  opponents  of  Neces- 
sity strenuously  maintain,  that  it  destroys  all  vir- 
tue and  vice  ;  whilst  its  advocates  declare  it  to 
be  the  most  consistent  mode  of  explaining  the 
divine  government.  It  is  not  for  us  to  determine, 
on  so  profound  a  subject,  where  the  truth  lies  ; 
and  it  is  remarkable,  that  the  perplexity  of  the 
theme  seems  to  have  harrassed  angelic  minds, 
according  to  the  representation  of  Milton — 

Others  apart,  sat  on  a  hill  retir'd,  ' 

In  thoughts  more  elevate,  and  reson'd  high. 
Of  providence,  fore-knowledge,  will,  and  fate  ; 
Fix'd  fate,  free-will,  fore-knowledge,  absolute, 
And  found  no  end^^-m  ivandering  mazes  lost  \ 


MATERIALISTS.  07 

To  short-sighted  mortals^  with  all  their  boasted 
wisdom,  the  subject  must  appear  dark,  and  in 
many  respects  unfathomable.  The  solution  of 
such  difficulties  ought  to  be  referred  to  a  more 
enlightened  sphere  of  being  !  Dr.  Watts,  indeed^ 
thinks  it  probable  that  it  will  constitute  one  of 
the  sublime  employments  of  the  blessed  in  the 
heavenly  world. 


MATERIALISTS. 

THE  doctrine  of  Materialism  respects  the  na- 
ture  of  the  human  soul,  and  the  peculiar  mode  of 
its  existence.     It  teaches  that  the    soul  is  not  a 
principle    independent   of  the    body,  but  that  it 
results  from  the  organization  of  the  brain,  though 
in  a  manner  which  will  not  admit  of  explication. 
This  doctrine  is   thought  by  its  advocates  to  be 
not   only  more     philosophical—- but   to  point  out 
more  fully  the  necessity  and  value  of  a  resurrec- 
Hon  from    the   dead — which   is  a   leading  doc- 
trine of  Christianitj^     Materialists  deny  any   in- 
termediate  state  of  consciousness  between  death 
and    the   resurrection.     Drs.   Price   and    Priestly 
had   a  friendly    correspondence  on    this  article  ; 
and  though  Dr.  Price  was  no  materialist,  yet  he 
did   not   hold  with  an  intermediate  state.     Those 
who  deny  the  existence  of  an  intermediate  state, 
I 


9S  SOCINTANS. 


are  sometimes  called  Soul-sleepers.  See  Arch- 
jdeacon  Blackburn's  Historical  view  of  this  Corir 
troversy,  and  Dr,  Law's  Appendix  to  his  Theo- 
ry of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion.  The 
Light  of  Nature  Pursued,  by  Edward  Search, 
Esq.  is  a  curious  work  relating  to  this  subject* 
It  contains  ingenious  illustrations  :  the  authour's 
real  name  was  Tucker  ;  he  died  in  1775. 

Had  not  Necessity  and  Materialism  been  more 
of  a  philosophical  than  of  a  theological  nature, 
they  should  have  received  a  minuter  explication. 


SOdlNIJNS. 

THE  Socinian  takes  his  name  from  Faustus 
Socinus,  who  died  in  Poland,  1 604.  There  were 
two  who  bore  the  name  Socinus,  uncle  and  ne- 
phew, and  both  disseminated  the  same  doctrine. 
The  Socinian  asserts,  that  Christ  had  no  exist- 
ence until  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  and  that, 
being  a  man  like  ourselves,  though  endowed  with 
a  large  portion  of  the  divine  wisdom,  the  only 
objects  of  his  mission  w^ere  to  teach  the  efficacy 
of  repentance  without  an  atonement,  as  a  me- 
dium of  the  divine  favour — to  exhibit  an  example 
for  our  imitation — to  seal  his  doctrine  with  his  , 
blood — and,  in  his  resurrection  from  the  dead,  to 
indicate  the  certainty  of  our  resurrection  at  the 


SOCINIANS.  99 


last  day.  The  simple  humanity  of  Christ,  which 
forms  a  principal  article  of  their  creed,  is  founded 
on  passages  of  Scripture,  where  the  Messiah  isr 
spoken  of  as  a  IMAN,  particularly  the  following  : 
2  Acts  xxii.  Ye  men  of  Israel  hear  these  words, 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  MAN,  approved  of  God 
among  you,  &c. — 17  Acts  xxxi.  Because  he 
hath  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge 
the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  MAN,  zvhom 
he  hath  ordained,  &c. — 1  Tim.  ii.  v.  There  is 
one  God  and  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
men,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus — At  the  same  time 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  neither  the  Trini- 
tarian, nor  Sabeilian,  nor  Arian  denies  his  hu- 
manity ;  though  they  do  not  hold  it  in  that  ex- 
clusive and  simple  sense  of  the  word,  for  which 
the  Socinian  contends.  On  this  account  it  is, 
that  the  Socinians  have  received  on  some  occa- 
sions, the  appellation  of  Humanitarians. 

Between  ancient  and  modern  Socinians,  how- 
ever, a  considerable  difference  obtains.  The  mi- 
raculous conception,  and  the  worship  of  Christy 
both  allowed  by  Socinus,  are  rejected  by  most  of 
the  modern  Socinians.  Dr.  Priestly  distinguished 
himself  in  a  controversy  on  this  subject  with  Dr. 
Horsley,  the  present  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph.  Dr. 
Priestly  had  published  his  two  principal  theolo- 
gical works  ;  the  one  to  prove  that  the  first 
Christians  were  Unitarians,  entitled.  The  History, 


lot  S0C1NIAN3. 


of  Early  Opinions  ;  the  other  to  account  for  the 
origui  and  spread  of  what  is  commonly  called  the 
orthodox  doctrine,  entitled,  A  History  of  the 
Corruptiojis  of  Christianity.  On  one  or  both 
of  these  publications,  the  Bishop  severely  ani- 
madverted ;  and  to  these  animadversions  Dr, 
Priestly  made  several  spirited  replies.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  trace  the  origin  of  the  Socinian  contro- 
versy, John  Campanus  is  said  to  be  the  first  of 
the  reformers  vrho  distinguished  himself  on  this 
side  of  the  question.  Next  Michael  Servetus,  a 
Spanish  physician,  whom  Calvin  persecuted  even 
to  death  ;  for  in  the  year  1553  he  was  commit- 
ted to  the  flames,  by  persons  who  had  themselves 
just  escaped  the  fangs  of  the  Romish  church,  and 
who  at  least  had  nominally  erected  the  standard  of 
religious  liberty.  "  It  is  impossible  (says  Dr. 
Alaclaine)  to  justify  the  conduct  of  Calvin  in  the 
case  of  Servetus,  w^hose  death  will  be  an  indehble 
reproach  upon  the  character  of  that  eminent  re- 
former. The  only  thing  that  can  be  alledged, 
not  to  deface,  but  to  diminish  his  crime  is,  that 
it  was  no  easy  matter  for  him  to  divest  himself  at 
once  of  that  persecuting  spirit  which  had  been 
so  long  nourished  and  strengthened  by  the  Popish 
religion,  in  which  te  was  educated.  It  was  a 
remaining  portion  of  the  spirit  of  popery  in  the 
breast  of  Calvin,  that  kindled  this  unchristian 
zeal  against  the  wretched   Servetus/*    See  the 


SOCINIANS.  101 


Life  of  Servetus,  where  the  tragedy  is  detailed 
with  all  its  circumstances  of  brutality.  Having 
mentioned  the  persecution  of  Servetus  by  Cal- 
vin, truth  on  the  other  hand,  requires  it  to  be 
mentioned  that  Socinus  has  been  accused  of  per* 
secuting  Francis  David,  who,  on  account  of  his 
rejecting  the  worship  of  Christ,  was  cast  into 
prison,  where  he  died.  The  persecuting  spirit, 
discoverable  in  some  of  the  reformers,  dimin- 
ishes the  respectability  of  their  characters,  and 
the  only  apology  that  can  be  made  for  them  is, 
what  has  been  already  mentioned,  that  the  nature 
and  foundation  of  religious  liberty  w^ere  not-then 
fully  understood. 

The  Socinians  flourished  greatly  in  Poland 
about  the  year  1551  ;  and  J.  Siemienius,  Palatine 
of  Podolia,  built  purposely  for  their  use  the  city 
of  Racow*  A  famous  catechism  was  published 
by  them,  called  the  Racovian  Catechism  ;  and 
their  most  able  writers  are  known  among  the 
learned  by  the  title  of  the  Polones  Fratres,  or 
Polonian  Brethren,  ^'  Their  writings  were  (says 
Dr.  Maclaine)  republished  together  in  the  year 
1656,  in  one  great  collection,  consisting  of  six 
volumes  in  folio,  under  the  title  of  Bibliotheca 
Eratrum.  There  are,  indeed,  in  this  collection, 
many  pieces  wanting,  which  were  composed  by 
the  most  cmuient  leaders  of  the  sect  ;  but  what 
is  there  published  is  nevertheless  sufficient  to  give 
I  2 


102  SOCINIANfS. 


the  attentive  reader  a  clear  idea  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Sociniaiis,  and  of  the  nature  of  their  instn 
tution,  as  a  religious  community.'^  An  inter- 
esting account  of  these  several  authors,  as  well 
as  of  the  persecution  of  Francis  David,  will  be 
found  in  Dr.  ToulmirVs  Life  of  S acinus. 

But  the  Socinians  have  appropriated  to  them- 
selves  the  appellation  of  Unitarians  ;  and  by 
this  name  they  are  now  more  generally  distin- 
£^*uished.  Though  to  this  appellation  they  have 
no  exclusive  claim,  yet  it  is  somewhat  more  cor- 
rectly descriptive  of  their  religious  tenets  than 
that  of  Socinians,  since  they  renounce  many  of 
the  opinions  of  Socinus.  The  Arians,  if  not 
the  Trinitarians,  are  equally  strenuous  for  the 
divine  Unity.  See  Lindsey's  Hostorical  Viciv 
of  Unitarianismj  Dr.  Toulmin's  Life  of  Socinus, 
Hopton  Hayne's  Scripture  Jccount  of  the  At- 
tributes  and  IVorship  of  God^  and  of  the  Char- 
acter and  Offices  of  Jesus  Christy  and  Mr, 
Belsham's  Jnsiver  to  Jlr.  JVilberforce,  where 
the  modern  Socinian  tenets  are  stated  and  defend- 
ed with  ability. 

The  Trinitarians,  Arians,  and  Socinians,  have 
also  differed  greatly  respecting  the  personality 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Much  has  been  said  on 
both  sides  of  this  intricate  question.  Dr.  Lard- 
ner's  Letter  on  the  Logos  may  be  consulted,  and 
also  Mr.  Marsoni's  little   piece,  entitled,   the  Im- 


\ 


SOCIMIANS.  103 


personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  published  in 
1787.  In  Doddridge^s  Lectures  much  informal 
tion  is  given  respecting  this  and  ahnost  every 
other  article  of  the  Christian  faith.  Dr.  Kippis, 
not  long  before  his  death,  published  an  edition 
of  this  valuable  work,  with  considerable  addi- 
tions and  improvements.  The  private  Christian 
as  well  as  the  theological  student,  will  derive 
an  extensive  knowledge  from  the  attentive  peru- 
sal of  it. 

A  note  added  to  this  publication  by  Dr.  Kip- 
pis,  and  applicable  to  this  Jirst  division  of  reli- 
gious opinions,  is  of  so  excellent  a  nature,  that 
I  am  tempted  to  transcribe  it.  ^'  When  it  h 
considered,  how  extremely  difficult  many  qires- 
tions  in  themselves  are,  and  what  driferent  con- 
clusions have  been  drawn  concerning  them  by 
men  of  the  profoundegt  knowledge  and  deepest 
reflection,  there  is  a  modest  scepticismy  which  it 
will  become  young  students  to  preserve,  till  time 
shall  have  given  them  the  opportunity  of  wider 
enquiry  and  larger  observation.  This  remark 
would  not  have  been  made,  if  instances  had  not 
occurred  of  youth  who  have  eagerly,  and  even 
arrogantly  adopted  an  hypothesis  on  one  side  or 
the  other,  without  sufficiently  exercising  that  pa- 
tience of  thinking,  and  that  slow  progress  of  ex- 
amination, which  are  likely  to  be  the  most  favour- 
able to  the  acquisition  of  TRUTH.'' 


104  CALVINISTS. 


II. 

OPINIONS     RESPECTING     THE      MEANS     AND 
MEASURE   OF   GOD'S   FAVOR. 

CHRISTIANS  having  ascertained  the  person 
of  Christ — whether  he  be  the  eternal  God — or 
an  j4ngel  possessing  an  existence  previous  to  his 
being  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary — or  a  mere  Man, 
under  the  guidance  of  inspiration — next  proceed 
to  consider  the  extent  of  the  blessings  of  the. gos- 
pel, and  the  manner  in  which  they  have  been 
conveyed  to  us.  This  circumstance  also,  has 
been  the  source  of  endless  contentions.  Peace 
and  charity  have  been  not  unfrequently  lost  in 
the  discussion  of  the  subject.  Even  the  metho- 
dists  themselves  split  into  two  great  parties  con- 
cerning it,  and  the  controversy  between  their  re- 
spective leaders  has  scarcely  subsided.  We  shall 
attempt  the  delineation  of  this  class  of  opinions 
with  brevity. 


CALFINISTS. 

THE  Calvinist  adheres  to  the  doctrines  which 
Calvin  taught  at  Geneva,  about  1540,  where  he 
was  professor  of  Divinity.  The  tenets  of  Cal- 
vinism are  predestination,  original  sin,  particular 
redemption,  irresistible  grace,  and  the  perseve- 
rance of  the  saints.  These,  in  the  theological 
world,  are  termed  the^re  points  ;  and  frequent 


CALVINISTS.  105 


have  been  the  controversies  agitated  respecting 
them.  As  the  Calvanists  differ  among  them- 
selves in  the  explication  of  these  tenets,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  give  a  specific  account  of  them. 
Generally  speaking,  however,  they  comprehend 
the  following  propositions  :  Ist.  That  God  hai^ 
chosen  a  certain  number  in  Christ  to  everlasting 
glory,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  accord- 
ing to  his  immutable  purpose,  and  of  his  free 
grace  and  love,  without  the  least  fore-sight  of 
faith,  good  works,  or  any  conditions  performed 
by  the  creature;  and  that  the  rest  of  mankind  he 
was  pleased  to  pass  by,  and  ordain  them  to  dishon- 

I  or  and  wrath  for  their  sins,  to  the  praise  of  hi^ 
vindictive  justice.  2dly.  That  Jesus  Christ  by 
his  death  and  sufferings,  made  an  atonement  only 
for  the  sins  of  the  elect.  3dly.  That  mankind  are. 
totally  depraved  in  consequence  of  the  fall  ;  and^ 
by  virtue  of  Adam's  being  their    public   head,  the 

I  guilt  of  his  sin  was  imputed,  and  a   corrupt  nature 

'  conveyed  to  all  his  posterity,  from  which  prooceed 
all  actual  transgressions,  and  that  by  sin  we  are 
made  subject  to  death,  and  ail  miseries  temporal, 
spiritual,  and  eternal.  4thly,  That  all  whom  God 
hsLS  predestinated  to  life  he  is  pleased  in  his  ap- 
pointed time  effectually  to  call  by  his  word  and 
Spirit  out  of  that  state  of  sin  and  death  in  which 
they  are  by  nature  to  grace  and  salvation  by    Je» 

j  sus  Christ.     And  Sthly,  That   those    whom   GoU 


106  CALVINISTS, 


has  effectually  called  and  sanctified  by  his  spirit 
shall  never  finally  fall*  from  a  state  of  grace. 
Some  have  supposed  that  the  Trinity  was  one  of 
the  five  points  ;  but  this  is  a  mistake,  since  both 
the  Calvanists  and  Arminians,  who  formed  the 
synod  of  Dort  (where  this  phrase,  Jive  points, 
originated)  were  on  the  article  of  the  Trinity  ge-  ,, 
neraih^  agreed.  The  most  prominent  feature  of  I 
this  system  is  the  election  of  som.e,  and  reproba- 
tion of  others,  from  all  eternity. 

The  Calvinists  found  their  sentiments  of  elec- 
tion on  the  expression  of  the  Saviour,  respecting  ' 
his  having  chosen  his  disciples  out  of  the  worlds 
and  more  particularly  on  certain  terms  used  by 
the  apostle  Paul,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
To  the  Epistolary  writers,  indeed,  they  more 
frequently  refer  than  to  any  other  part  of  the  New 
Testament.  The  chief  advantage  of  this  system,  > 
in  the  opinion  of  its  advocate  is  to  produce  in 
us  a  most  reverential  awe  when  we  look  up  to 
God,  and  the  profoundest  humility  when  we 
look  down  upon  ourselves. 

To  the  Calvinists  also  belongs  more  particularly 
the  doctrine  of  atonement y  or  that  Christ,  by  his 
death,  made  satisfaction  to  the  divine  justice  for 
the  elect,  appeasing  the  anger  of  the  Divine 
Being,  and  effecting  on  his  part  a  reconciliation. 
Thus  Jesus  Christ  had  the  sin  of  the  elect  laid 
upon  him  ;  and   in   this   sense,  Luther   said  that 


CALVINISTfc.  107 


Jesus  Christ  was  the  greatest  sirmer  in  the 
world  !  !  !  The  sentiment  is  fully  expressed  by 
Dr.  Watts  in  these  lines — 

Rich  were  the  drops  of  Jesus'  blood 

That  cahn'd  liis  froivning  face, 
That  sprinkled  o'er  the  burning  throne, 

And  turn'd  the  'wrath  to  grace  I 

The  manner  also  in  which  other  Calvinistic 
writers  have  expressed  themselves  on  the  death 
of  Christ  may  be  seen  by  consulting  the  Univer- 
sal Theological  Magazine ^  for  November  1802, 
where  Mr.  R.  Wright,  of  Wisbeach,  has  col- 
lected together  passages  illustrative  of  the  subject. 
This  doctrine,  however,  is  strongly  reprobated 
by  some  of  their  divines,  who  consider  the  death  of 
Christ  (with  the  Arians  and  Sabellians)  as  simply 
a  mjiiium  through  which  God  has  been  pleased 
to  exercise  mercy  towards  the  penitent.  Hence 
it  has  been  remarked  that  God  is  represented  as 
reconciling  by  the  death  of  Christ  not  himself  to 
man  but  man  to  hhnself.  God  was  in  Christ  re- 
conciling  the  world  to  himself y  not  imputing 
their  trespasses  unto  them,  2  Cor.  v.  19.  See 
Mr.  Fuller's  publication,  entitled.  The  Calvinist- 
ic and  Socinian  Systems  compared^  which  has 
been  admired  by  some  of  the  Calvinists,  and  con- 
demned by  others  of  them,  as  not  coming  up  to 
the  full  standard  of  orthodoxy.* 

*  Haying  retened  to  this  pubUcatiou,  it  may  be  proper  to 
loi^ieive,  that  it  treats  of  the  Calvinistic  system,   and  endea- 


108      SUBLAPSARIANS  AND  SUPRALAPSARIANS. 

But  to  ascertain  the  real  sentiiiients  of  this  body 
of  Christians,  recourse  should  be  had  to  the 
Jssembly^s  Catechism^  which  is  taught  their 
children,  and  may  therefore  be  supposed  to  con- 
tain a  just  acccount  of  their  religious  opinions. 


SUBLJPSJRIJNS 

AND 

SUPRALAPSARIANS. 
AMONG  the  refinements  of  Calvinism  are  to 
be  ranked  the  distinctions  of  the  Sublapsarians 
and  Supralapsarians.  The  Sublapsarians  assert, 
that  God  had  only  permitted  the  first  man  to  fall 
into  transgression,  without  absolutely  pre-deter- 
mining  his   fall ;    whereas    the     Supralapsaiians 

voiirs  to  defend  it  from  the  absurdities  and  impieties  with  which 
it  has  been  charged  in  the  writings  of  the  modern  Socijiians. 
Accordingly  Dr.  Touhnin  and  Mr.  Kentish  have  come  forward 
and  bestowed  upon  it  some  animadversions,  to  which  their  an- 
tagonist has  repUed.  Dr.  Priestly  and  Mr.  Belsham,  indeed, 
against  whom  Mr.  F.'s  criticisims  are  cliiefly  directed,  have 
treated  it  in  a  different  manner.  The  former  has  not  deemed 
it  worthy  of  notice  ;  the  latter  mentions  it  in  his  reply  to  IVIr. 
Wilberiorce,  with  great  contempt.  He  there  remarks,  that  the 
amount  of  its  boasted  argument  is  this — "  We  Calvinists  being  . 
muc/)  better  Christians  than  you  Socinians,  our  doctrines  7nusf 
be  true  !''  So  very  different  and  even  contradictory  are  the  es- 
timates made  of  mere  controversial  publications.  Dr.  Toulmin 
published  a  second  and  enlarged  edition  of  liis  piece  against  it, 
so  that  the  dispute  between  them  is  at  present  far  from  being 
decided.  In  this,  as  in  similar  cases,  each  party  boasts  of 
victory* 


SttBLAPSARIANS  AND   SUPRALAPSARIANS.    10& 

maintain  that  God  had  from  all  eternity  decreed 
the  transgressions  of  Adam,  in  such  a  manner 
that  our  fir^t  parents^  could  not  possibly  avoid 
this  fatal  event.  Dr.  Doddridge  in  his  Lectures, 
has  thus  stated  these  abstruse  distinctions — ^^  The 
Supralaps avian  and  Sublapsarian  schemes  agree 
in  asserting  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  but 
with  this  difference,  that  the  former  supposes 
that  God  intended  to  glorify  his  justice  in  the  con- 
demnation  of  some,  as  well  as  his  mercy  in  the 
salvation  of  others,  and  for  that  purpose  decreed 
that  Adam  should  necessarily  fall,  and  by  that  fall 
bring  himself  and  all  his  offspring  into  a  state  of 
everlasting  condemnation ;  the  latter  scheme  sup- 
poses that  the  decree  of  predestination  regards 
man  as  fallen  by  an  abuse  of  that  freedom  which 
Adam  had,  into  a  state  in  which  all  were  to  be 
left  to  necessary  and  imavoidable  ruin,  who  were 
not  exempted  from  it  by  predestination,"  Re- 
cent divines,  who  have  gone  to  the  height  of 
Supra-lapsarians,  are  Mr.  Brine,  and  Dr.  GilL 
Were  any  thing  more  necessary  to  elucidate  this 
subject,  it  might  be  added — that  the  term  Supra- 
lapsarius  is  derived  from  two  Latin  w^ords.  Su- 
pra, above,  and  lapsus  the  fall  :  and  the  term 
Sublapsarjans,  from  S^ft  below  or  after,  and  lap- 
sus the  fall. 

Calvin,  in   his   Institutes,  states   and  defends 
at  large  the  principles  of  the  system.    It  is  writ- 
J 


110  ARMINIANS. 


ten  in  elegant  Latin,  is  dedicated  to  Francis  the 
First,  King  of  France,  and  the  dedication  has 
been  admired  for  its  boldness  and  magnanimity. 

For  a  defence  of  Calvinism,  see  Edwards  on 
the  Will,  Brines  Tracts,  Dr.  GilPs  Cause  of 
God  and  Truth,  and  Toplady's  Historic  Proof 
vf  the  Calvinism  of  the  Church  of  England* 


ARMINIANS. 
ITHE  Arminian  favours  the  tenets-  of  Arml- 
iVius,  the  disciple  of  Beza,  and  latterly  an  emi- 
nent professor  of  divinity  at  Leyden,  who  flourish- 
ed about  the  year  1600.  Thinking  the  doc- 
trine of  Calvui  with  regard  to  free-will,  predes-^ 
tination,  and  grace,  directly  contrary  to  the  mild 
and  amiable  perfections  of  the  Deity,  he  began 
to  express  his  doubts  concerning  thena  in  the 
year  1591  ;  and  upon  further  enquiry,  adopted 
sentiments  more  nearly  resembling  those  of  the 
Lutherans  than  of  the  Calvinists.  After  his  ap- 
poiatment  to  the  theological  chair  ^t  Leyden,  he 
thought  it  his  duty  to  avow  and  vindicate  the 
principles  which  he  had  .embraced  ;  and  the  free- 
dom with  which  lie  published  and  defended  them, 
exposed  him  to  the  resentment  of  those  that  ad- 
hered to  the  theological  ^y^iem  of  Geneva.  The 
controversy  thus  begun  in  the  life-time  of  Ar? 
rnmius,  ended  not  with  his  death,  and  for  a  long 
time  roussd    the  violence    of  contending    pas- 


ARMINIANS.  Ill 


sions.*  His  tenets  include  the  five  following 
propositions  :  1st.  That  God  has  not  fixed  the 
future  state  of  mankind  by  an  absolute  uncondi* 
tional  decree  ;  but  determined  from  all  eternity^ 
to  bestow  salvation  on  those  whom  he  foresaw 
would  persevere  to  the  end  in  their  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  to  inflict  punishment  on  those  who 
should  continue  in  their  unbelief,  and  resist  to 
the  end  his  divine  assistance*  2dly.  That  Jesus 
Christ  by  his  death  and  sufferings,  made  an  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  all  mankind  in  general,  and 
of  every  individual  in  particular ;  that  however 
none  but  those  who  believe  in  him  can  be  par- 
takers of  this  divhie  benefit*  3dly.  That  man- 
kind are  not  totally  depraved,  and  that  depravity 
does  not  come  upon  them  by  virtue  of  Adam's 
being  their  public  head,  but  that  mortality  and 
natural  evil  only  are  the  direct  consequences  of 
his  sin  to  posterity*  4thly.  That  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  irresistable  grace,^  in  the  conversion  of 
sinners.  And,  5thly.  That  those  who  are  united 
to  Christ  by  faith,  may  fall  from  their  faith,  and 
forfeit  finally  their  state  of  grace.  Thus  the  fol- 
lowers of  Arminius  believe  that  God,  having  an 
equal  regard  for  all  his  creatures,  sent  his  Son  to 
die,  for  the  sins  of  the    tvhole   world  ;  that  men 

=^'  Arminius's  motto  was  a  remarkable  one—**  A  good  con- 
rlence  is  aparadise^"* 


112  ARMINIANS. 


have  the  power  of  doing  the  will  of  God,  other- 
wise they  are  not  the  proper  subjects  of  approba- 
tion and  condemnation  ;  and  that,  in  the  present 
imperfect  state,  behevers,  if  not  particularly  vi- 
gilant, may,  through  the  force  of  temptation, 
fall  from  grace,  and  sink  into  final  perdition. 
The  Arminians  found  their  sentiments  on  the  ex- 
pressions of  our  Saviour  respecting  his  willing- 
ness to  save  all  that  come  unto  him  ;  especially 
on  his  prayer  over  Jerusalem — his  Sermon  on  the 
mount,  and  above  all  on  his  delineation  of  the 
process  of  the  last  day,  where  the  salvation  of 
men  is  not  said  to  have  been  procured  by  any  de- 
crecy  but  because  they  had  done  the  will  of  their 
Father,  who  is  in  heaven.  This  last  argument 
they  deem  decisive ;  because  it  cannot  be  sup- 
posed that  Jesus,  in  the  account  of  the  judgment 
da}^,  would  have  deceived  them.  They  also 
say,  the  terms  in  the  Romans  respecting  election, 
are  applicable  only  to  the  state  of  the  Jews  as  a 
bodt/y  without  a  reference  to  the  religious  condi- 
tion of  individuals,  either  in  the  present  or  future 
world. 

Dr.  Whitby,  the  commentator,  who  was  ori-- 
ginaily  a  Calvinist,  has  written  a  large  and  ela- 
borate defence  of  Armijiianism  ;  and  the  reader 
should  consult  Dr.  Taylor^s  Key  to  the  Epistles 
to  the  Romans,  which  has  been  much  admired, 
on  the  subject.     Since  the  days  of  Laud  (who  was 


ARMINIANS.  lis 


Archbishop  of  Canterbury  in  the  reign  of  Charles 
the  First)  by  far  the  majority  of  the  English  cler- 
gy have  taken  this  side  of  the  question.  Bishop 
Burnet  has  given  a  full  account  of  the  opinions 
of  this  sect,  in  his  Exposition  of  the  seventeeth 
Article. 

In  the  last  century  disputes  ran  very  high  in 
Holland  between  the  Calvinists  and  the  Armi- 
nians.  On  each  side  considerable  talents  and 
learning  were  displayed  ;  but  some  shamefully 
called  in  the  interference  of  the  civil  power,  and 
thus  terminated  a  controversy  which  for  some 
years  had  agitated  the  religious  world.  For  thisr 
purpose  the  famous  synod  of  Dort  was  held, 
1618,  and  a  curious  account  of  its  proceedings 
may  be  seen  in  the  series  of  letters  written  by  the 
ever-memorable  John  Hales,  who  was  present 
on  the  occasion.  This  synod  was  succeeded  by 
a  severe  and  scandalous  persecution  of  the  Armi- 
nians.  The  respectable  Barnevelt  lost  his  head 
on  a  scaffold,  and  the  learned  Grotius,  condemned 
to  perpetual  imprisonment,  escaped  from  the  cell 
and  took  refuge  in  France.  The  storm,  how- 
ever, some  time  after  abated,  and  Episcopius,  an 
Arminian  minister,  opened  a  seminary  in  Am- 
sterdam, which  produced  some  able  divines  and 
excelled  scholars. 

The  principal  Arminian  writers  are  Episcopius, 
Vorstius^  Grotius,  Limborch,  Le  Clerc,  Wet- 
J2 


114  BAXTERIAN^. 


stein,  not  to  mention  many  others  of  modem 
times  particularly  Mr.  John  Wesley  in  his  Jr- 
minian  Magazine,  and  Mr.  Fellowes  in  his  Reli- 
gion without  Canty  and  in  his  elegant  work,  en- 
titled Christian  Philosophy. 

The  Arminians  are  sometimes  called  the  Re- 
monstrants, because  they,  in  1611,  presented  a 
KEMONSTRANCE  to  the  States  General,  wherein 
they  pathetically  state  their  grievances,  and  pray 
for  relief.  See  an  interesting  work,  entitled^ 
An  A^bridgement  of  Gerrard  Brandt's  History  of 
the  Reformation  in  the  Low  Countries,  2  vols* 
8yo. 


\ 


BJXTERIANS. 

THE  Baxterian  strikes  into  a  middle  path, 
between  Arminianism  and  Calvinism,  and  thus 
endeavours  to  unite  both  schemes.  With  the 
Calvinist,  he  professes  to  believe  that  a  certain 
number,  determined  upon  in  the  divine  council?, 
will  be  infallibly  saved  ;  and  with  the  Arminian 
he  joins  in  rejecting  the  doctrine  of  reprobation 
as  absurd  and  impious  ;  admits  that  Christ,  in  a 
certain  sense,  died  for  all,  and  supposes  that  such 
a  portion  of  grace  is  allotted  to  every  man,  as 
renders  it  his  own  fault  if  he  does  not  attain  to 
eternal  life.  This  conciliatory  system  was  espous- 
ed by  the  famous  nonconformist   Richard  Bax- 


.  BAXTERIAN^,  115 

ter,  who  lived  in  the  last  century,  and  who  was 
equally  celebrated  for  the  acuteness  of  his  con- 
troversial talents,  and  the  utility  of  his  practical 
writings.  Hence  came  the  term  Baxterians, 
among  whom  are  generally  ranked  both  Watts 
and  Doddridge.  In  the  scale  of  religious  senti- 
ment, Baxterianism  seems  to  be  with  respect  to 
the  subject  of  the  divine  favor,  what  Arianism  is 
with  respect  to  the  person  of  Christ.  It  appears 
to  have  been  considered  by  some  pious  persons 
as  a  safe  middle  way  between  two  extremes, 
Baxter  was  an  extraordinary  character  in  the  re- 
ligious world.  He  wrote  about  120  books,  and 
had  above  60  written  against  him.  Though  he 
possessed  a  very  metaphysical  genius,  and  conse- 
quently sometimes  made  a  distinction  without  a 
difference,  yet  the  great  object  of  most  of  his 
productions  was  peace  and  amity.  Accordingly 
his  religious  system  was  formed  not  to  inflame 
the  passions  and  widen  the  breaches,  but  to  heal 
those  wounds  of  the  Christian  Church,  imder 
which  she  had  long  languished.* 


*  For  the  particular  detail  given  of  the  Calvinistic  and  Ar- 
miniaii  sentiments,  see  a  brief  but  useful  histoiy  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  in  2  vols,  by  Dr.  Gregory.  The  best  and  amplest 
ecclesiastical  history  is  Mosheim's,  in  C  vols,  translated  from  the 
Latin  into  English  by  Dr.  Maclaine,  of  the  Hague,  who  has 
enriched  it  with  many  valuable  notes.  Dr.  Priestly  has  just: 
published  in  six  octavo  volumes  a  Histoiy  of  the  Christiarj 
Church,  from  the  birth  of  the  Messiah  down  to  the  present  tiire. 


116  ANTINOMIANS. 


JNTIN0ML4NS. 

THE  Antinomian  derives  his  name  from  two 
Greek  words,  Anti,  against,  and  Nomo$,  a  law  ; 
his  favourite  tenet  being,  that  the  law  is  not  a 
rule  of  life  to  believers.  It  is  Hot  easy  to  ascer- 
tain what  he  means  by  this  position.  But  he  seems 
to  carry  the  doctrine  of  the  imputed  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  and  of  salvation  by  faith  without 
works,  to  such  lengths  as  to  injure,  if  not  wholly 
destroy,  the  obligation  to  moral  obedience.  An- 
tinomianism  may  be  traced  to  the  period  of  the 
reformation,  and  its  promulgator  was  John  Agri- 
eola,  originally  a  disciple  of  Luther.  TJie  Pa- 
pists, in  their  disputes  with  the  Protestants  of 
that  day,  carried  the  merit  of  good  works  to  an 
extravagant  length  ;  and  this  induced  some  of 
their  opponents  to  run  into  the  opposite  extreme* 
This  sect  (says  the  Encyclopaedia)  sprung  up  in 
England,  during  the  protectorate  of  Oliver  Crom- 
well, and  extended  their  system  of  libertinism 
much  farther  than  Agricola,  the  disciple  of  Lu- 
ther. Some  of  their  teachers  expresslj'-  main- 
tained, that  as  the  elect  cannot  fall  from  grace, 
nor  forfeit  the  divine  favour,  the  wicked  actions 
they  commit  are  not  really  sinful,  nor  are  they 
to  be  considered  as  instances  of  their  violation  of 
the  divine  law^,  consequently  fthey  have  no  occa- 
sion either  to  confess  their  sins  or  to  break  them 


ANTINOMIANS.  117 

off  by  repentance.  According  to  them  it  is  one  of 
the  essential  and  distinctive  characters  of  the 
elect,  that  they  cannot  do  any  thing  displeasing 
to  God,  or  prohibited  by  the  law.  Luther,  Ru- 
therford, Sedgwick,  Gataker,  Witsius,  Bull,  Wil- 
liams, &c,  have  written  refutations  ;  whilst  Crisp, 
Richardson,  Saltmarsh,  put  forth  defences  of  the 
Antinomians  ;  Wisgandus  wrote  ^^  A  Compar- 
ison between  ancient  and  modern  Antinomians." 
The  late  Rev.  Mr.  Fletcher,  Vicar  of  Madeley, 
in  Shropshire,  published  Four  Checks  to  Antino- 
mianismy  which  have  been  much  read,  and  great- 
ly admired. 

The  term  Antinomian  has  he^n  frequently  fix- 
ed on  persons  by  way  of  reproach  ;  and  there- 
fore many  who  have  been  branded  with  this 
name  have  repelled  the  charge.  There  are  many 
Antinomians,  indeed,  of  a  singular  cast  in  Ger- 
many, and  other  parts  of  the  continent  ;  they 
condemn  the  moral  law  as  a  rule  of  life,  and  yet 
profess  a  strict  regard  for  the  interests  of  practical 
religion.  Many  persons,  how^ever,  who  repro* 
bate  the  system  of  John  Calvin,  pronounce  Anti- 
nomianism  to  be  nothing  more  than  Calvinism 
run  to  seed.  Speculative  sentiments  of  any  kind 
ought  not  to  be  carried  to  a  degree  which  might 
endanger  even  in  appearance  the  sacred  cause  of 
morality. 


118  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT. 


IIL 


OPINIONS      RESPECTING      CHURCH      GOVERN- 
MENT^ AND  THE  ADMINISTRATION 
OF   CEREMONIES. 

^'  THE  extent  of  Christianity  in  the  world,  or 
all  those  several  kingdoms  and  countries  where 
the  Christian  religion  is  professed  and  embraced 
(says  Mr.  Martin  in  his  Philological  Library)  are 
taken  together,  called  Christendom  ;  and  this 
consists  of  many  (some  more  general,  some  more 
particular,  &c.)  different  religious  societies, 
which  are  called  churches,  A  Christian  church,, 
is  a  society  or  congregation  of  men  and  women, 
who  are  called  out  from  the  vicious  world  by  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  are  regulated  in  all 
the  parts  of  their  ritual  discipline  and  articles  of 
faith  by  the  plain  rules  and  prescriptions  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  whose  lives  are  correspond- 
ent to  their  holy  professions.  The  ministers  of 
the  Christian  Church,  in  its  primitive  state,  w^ere 
extraordinary  or  ordinary.  The  Extraordinary 
were  chiefly  three  :  1.  Jpostles,  who  were  dele- 
gated by  Christ  with  power  and  commission  to 
preach  the  gospel,  and  w^ork  miracles  in  confir- 
mation thereof  among  all  nations.  2.  Prophets, 
who  were  not  such  as  simply  foretold  things, 
but  those  to  whom  God  was  pleased  to  reveal 


CHURCH  GOVERNMENT.  119 

Ills  more  secret  counsels  and  designs,  and  who 
related  and  preached  the  same  to  men.  3. 
Evangelists^  such  as  were  assistants  to  the 
apostles  in  preaching  the  gospel,  and  were  en- 
dued with  many  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  of  languages  and  interpretations,  &c. 
But  since  the  establishment  of  Christianity  in  the 
world,  these  extraordinary  offices  have  ceased. 
The  ordinary  ministers  of  the  Christian  church 
are  principally  three  :  1.  A  Bishop,  who  had 
the  oversight  of  the  flock  or  church  of  Christ  ; 
to  him  pertained  the  preaching  of  the  word,  and 
Aue  regulation  of  the  church  in  faith  and  man- 
ners. And  this  rule  and  precedence  of  the  Bishop 
is  called  Episcopacy,  2.  Presbyters  or  Elders, 
or  Priests  ;  these  were  such  as  preached  the 
word,  and  administered  the  sacraments,  and  per- 
formed all  the  other  sacred  functions  of  the  min- 
istry, under  the  inspection  of  the  Bishop.  But 
it  is  a  controversy,  whether  the  scripture  doth 
not  intend  the  same  person  or  officer  by  the  ap- 
pellations Bishop  and  Presbyter.  The  power  of 
the  Pre56i/ter  is  called  Presbytery.  3.  Deacons; 
these  w^ere  such  as  officiate  in  that  part  of  the 
Christian  ministry  w^iich  related  to  the  poor, 
and  their  business  was  to  take  the  collection  of 
money  made  in  the  church,  and  to  distribute  it 
to  the  necessities  of  the  poor,  and  other  sacred 
Msei.      And  their  office,    properly  speaking,  is 


120  PAPISTS. 


called  the  Ministry  or  Deaconship,  These  offi- 
cers are  perpetual  in  the  Christrian  church.''— 
After  this  introductory  explanation  of  the  Chris- 
tian church,  I  proceed  to  the  Opinions  respecU 
ing  church  government  and  the  administration 
of  ceremonies. 


PJPISTS. 


THE  Papists  are  so  denominated  from  their 
leading  tenet — the  infallibility  and  supremacy  of 
the  Pope  (in  the  Latin,  Papa^  signifying  father, 
which  they  strenuously  maintain.  By  the  infalli" 
bility  of  the  Pope,  is  understood,  that  the  Pope 
cannot  err  in  ecclesiastical  matters  ;  and  by  his 
supremacy  is  meant  his  authority  over  all  the 
churches,  and  sometimes  over  all  the  princes  of 
the  earth.  This  enormous  power  has  been  for 
some  time  diminishing,  and  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics at  present  are  divided  on  this  subject.  Some 
allow  the  Pope's  infallibility  and  supremacy  in 
their  full  extent  ;  others  acknowledge  them  in 
part  ;  and  a  third  wholly  reject  them.  The  late 
Father  O'Leary's  Tracts  also  may  be  consulted, 
\\\\o  had  a  dispute  on  Popery  with  the  Reverend " 
John  Wesley.  They  also  profess  to  believe,  1. 
In  ii(t\e\\  sacraments — baptism,  confirmation,  the 
eucharist,   penance,   extreme    unction,    or   thn 


PAPISTS.  12  i 

anointing  the  sick  in  the  prospect  of  death,  or- 
ders, and  matrinaony.  With  respect  to  the  Eu- 
charist, or  Lord's  Supper,  they  hold  the  doctrine 
of  tramubstantiationy  or  that  the  bread  and  wine 
are  chaRged  into  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  *. 
the  paying  divine  worship  to  the  host,  or  conse- 
crated wafer,  and  the  allowing  communion  only 
in  one  kind,  viz.  bread  to  the  laity.  2.  In  works 
of  supererogation,  as  that  the  good  works  of 
saints  are  meritorious  enough  to  supply  the  defi- 
ciency of  others.  3.  In  the  celibacy,  or  single 
life  of  the  clergy.  4.  In  the  use  of  images  and 
sacred  relics.  The  charge  of  worshipping  Images 
has  been  brought  against  them,  and  though  it 
may  prevail  among  the  lower  classes,  yet  the 
more  intelligent  disown  every  thing  of  the  kind. 
And  5.  In  the  celebration  of  divine  service  in  an 
unknown  tongue.  Many,  however,  of  the  ad- 
herents to  Popery,  in  the  present  day,  reject 
some  of  the  above  tenets ;  and  more  especially 
renouncing  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  distin- 
guish themselves  by  the  name  of  Catholics,  and 
sometimes  of  Catholic  Dissenters.  The  pub- 
lications of  the  late  Dr.  Geddes,  on  this  subject, 
are  worthy  of  attention.  He  was  a  liberal  and 
learned  priest  among  this  class  of  the  Roman  Ca- 
thoHcs,  and  was  for  several  years  engaged  in  a 
translation  of  the  Bible  under  the  patronage  of 
Lord  Petre,  Among  the  Roman  Catholics  there 
K 


122  PAPISTS. 


«re  to  b€  found  several  monastic  orders,  such  as 
the  Augustines,  the  Benedictines,  the  Carmelites, 
the  Dominicans,  the  Franciscans,  &c.  and  also  a 
variety  of  sects,  such  as  the  Jesuites,  the  JansC" 
aits,  the  Molinists,  and  others,  some  of  whom 
were  gects  of  celebrity.  The  ingenious  Pascal, 
in  his  Provincial  Letters^  aimed  an  effective 
blow  at  the  order  of  the  Jesuits,  and  it  was  abo- 
lished in  France  in  1 762,  on  the  supposition  that 
they  adopted  practices  inimical  to  the  welfare  of 
their  country, 

In  the  council  of  Trent,  held  1549,  the  tenets 
of  the  Papists  were  reduced  into  one  compact 
standard,  and  the  summary  of  Pjopery,  exhibited 
in  Pope  Pius's  creed,  contains  the  substance  of 
the  decrees  and  canons  of  this  council.  The 
creed  is  divided  into  twenty-four  articles.  The 
first  twelve^are  expressed  in  the  words  of  the 
creed  called  iheNicene;  and  the  remaining  twelve 
are  new  articles,  truly  Romish.  See  Burrough's 
View  of  Popery,  taken  from  the  Creed  of  Pope 
Pius  the  Vlth,  1735.  Father  Paul,  of  Venice, 
has  imortalized  himself  by  a  history  of  the 
pouncil  of  Trent  ;  and  though  himself  a  Papist, 
yet  he  has  exposed  with  freedom  the  intrigues  by 
which  this  council  was  conducted.  Bellarmine, 
an  acute  Jesuit,  and  Bossuet,  the  Bishop  of 
Meaux,  are  the  two  most  celebrated  defenders  of 
Popery.      They^had  also  amongst  them  several 


PAPISTS.*  J  23 


eloquent  preachers  ;  and  the  sermons  of  Massi- 
lon,  Bourdaloue,  and  Flechier,  are  esteemed 
models  of  pulpit  eloquence.  In  this  country 
several  penal  laws  were  in  force  against  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  ;  but  most  of  them  were  repealed 
in  the  course  of  the  present  reign*  It  was  an  op- 
position to  the  repeal  of  these  laws  that  occa- 
sioned the  disgraceful  riots,  which  broke  out 
during  the  month  of  June,  1780,  and  threatened 
the  destruction  of  the  metropolis  ! 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  Papists  have  had 
amongst  them  a  Pope,  who  used  to  be  denomina- 
ted a  Protestant  Pope.  His  name  was  Ganga- 
nelli,  and  he  is  known  to  the  world  under  the 
title  of  Clement  the  14th.  His  liberality  ap- 
peared in  his  actions,  and  it  was  his  common 
saying,  ^^  We  too  often  lay  aside  charity  to 
maintain/ait^,  without  reflecting  that  if  it  is  not 
allowed  to  tolerate  men,  it  is  forbidden  to  hate 
and  persecute  those  who  have  unfortunately  em- 
braced it."  He  died  in  1775,  not  without  sus- 
picion of  being  poisoned.  Such  a  character  must 
be  pronounced  an  honour  to  the  Romish  churchy 
and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  there  are  many  individ- 
uals of  this  description  to  be  found  in  her  com- 
munion. As  to  his  letters^  which  for  the  libe- 
rality of  their  sentiments  and  the  elegance  of  their 
diction  have  been  much  admired,  many  entertain 
doubts  of  their  authenticity.     Archbishop  Feneloc. 


124  PAPISTS. 

also  was  distinguished   for  his  bepevolence    and 
piety. 

Here  the  account  of  Popery  should  have  ended^ 
had  not  their  doctrine  of   Indulgencies  deserved 
particular  explanation.      The  history  and  form  of 
these  indulgences  are  thus  given  us  by   that   emi- 
nent historian   Dr.  Robertson,  in  his    History  of 
Charles  the  Fifth.     *^  According   to  the   doctrine 
of  the  Romish  church,  all  the  good  w^orks  of  the 
saints,  over  and  above  those  which    were    neces- 
sary towards  their  own.  justification,    are  deposit- 
ed   together,  with  the    infinite    merits  of  Jesus 
Christ,  in  one  inexhaustable  treasur}^     The  keys 
of  this  were  committed  to  St.  Peter,    and  to  his 
successors  the  Popes,  who  may   open  it  at   plea- 
f^ure,  and  by  tranferring  a    portion    of  this  super- 
abundant merit  to  any  particular  person  for  a  sura 
of  money,  may  convey  to  him  either    the   pardon 
of  his  own  sins,,  or  a  release  for  any  one  in  whom 
he  is   intercepted,   from    the  pains    of  purgatory  ; 
which    indulgences    w^ere    first    invented   in   the 
eleventh  century^  by  Urban  the  Second^  as  a  re- 
compense for  those  who  went  in  person  upon  the 
meritorious    enterprize     (commonly     called     the 
Crusades)  of  conquering  the   holy  land.       They 
w^ere  afterwards  granted  to    those    who   hired    a 
soldier  for   that  purpose  ;  and  in  process  of  time 
were  bestowed  on  such  as  gave    money  for   ac- 
complishing any  pious  w^ork  enjoined  by  the  Pope^ 


PAPISTS.  22& 


Julius  the  Second  had  bestowed  indulgences  on 
all  who  contributed  towards  building  the  church 
of  St.  Peter  at  Rome  :  and  as  Leo  the  Tenth 
was  carrying  on  that  magnificent  and  extensive 
fabric,  his  grant  was  founded  on  the  same  pre- 
tence.'' 

The  following  is  the  form  of  these  indulgences  : 
^^  May  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  have  mercy  upon 
thee,  and  absolve  thee  by  the  merits  of  his  most 
holy  passion.  And  I,  by  the  authority,  of  his 
blessed  apostles  Peter  and  Paul,  and  of  the  most 
holy  Pope,  granted  and  committed  to  me  in  these 
parts,  do  absolve  thee,  first  from  all  ecclesiastic- 
al censures,  in  whatever  manner  they  have  been 
incurred,  and  then  from  all  thy  sins,  trangres- 
sions,  and  excesses^  how  enormous  soever  they 
be  even  from  such  as  are  reserved  for  the  cogni- 
zance of  the  holy  see,  and,  as  far  as  the  keys 
of  the  holy  church  extend,  I  remit  to  thee  al! 
punishment  which  thou  dost  deserve  in  purgatory 
en  their  account  ;  and  I  restore  thee  to  the  holy 
sacraments  of  the  church,  to  the  unity  of  the 
faithful,  and  to  that  innocence  and  purity  which 
thou  didst  posses  at  baptism  ;  so  that  when  thou 
dost  die  the  gates  of  punishment  shall  be  shut 
and  the  gates  of  the  paridise  of  delight  shall  be 
opened  ;  and  if  thou  shalt  not  die  at  present,  this 
grace  shall  remain  in  full  force  when  thou  art  at 
K  2 


126  GREEK,  OH  RUSSIAN  CHURCH, 

the  point  of  death.     In   the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

This  was  the  form  of  absolution  used  by  Tet- 
zel,  a  Dominican  friar,  who  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, was  appointed  to  sell  these  indulgences  in 
Germany,  which  eventually  brought  about  the 
reformation. 

This  article  shall  conclude  with  the  mention  of 
a  curious  tract  on  Popery,  entitled,  ^^  A  Modest 
Apology  for  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, addressed  to  all  moderate  Protestants,  partic- 
ularly to  the  Members  of  both  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment." This  piece  came  from  the  pen  of  the  late 
Dr.  Geddes,  who  has  been  already  mentioned, 
and  is  written  with  his  usual  learning  and  inge- 
nuity. It  is,  indeed,  a  singular  performance^  and 
well  worthy  attention. 


GREEKy  OR  RUSSIJN  CHURCH. 

THE  Greek,  or  Russian  Churchy  which  now 
sprji^ds  itself  over  the  eastern  parts  of  Europe,  is 
ancient,  and  bears  a  resemblance  to  the  Church 
of  Rome.  Denying,  however,  the  infallibility 
and  supremacy  of  the  Pope,  they  are  in  commu- 
3]ion  with  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople. 
Amongst  other  articles  of  belief,  they  are  dki'm- 
guished  for  these  three  :  1.  The  rejection  of  ima- 
ges in  the  worship   of  the  Deity,     2.  The  doc- 


^REEK,   OR  RUSSIAN   CHTRCH.  127 


trine  of  consubstantiation,  or  the  union  of  the  body 
of  Christ  with  the  sacramental  element.  3.  The 
administration  of  baptism^  by  immersing  the 
whole  body  in  water. 

The    Russian,    or   Greek    church    equals  the 
Latin  or   Romish  church   in  the  number  of  cere- 
monies and  superstitious  customs  ;  some  of  which 
are    thus   described  in   Chantreau^s  Travels    into 
Russia  : — '^  At   the   beginning  of  the   year,  the 
king's   day  is  a  singular  festival,  which  the  Ruii- 
sians  call  the    benediction  of  w^aters.       On  the 
Neva,  then   frozen,  there  is  raised  for  the  cere- 
mony a  kind   of  temple,  of  an  octagonal  figure, 
on  the  top  of  which  is  a  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and 
the  inside  is  decorated  with  pictures,  representing 
the    baptism   of   Jesus,  his  transfiguration,  and 
some  other  parts   of  his  life.     There  your  atten- 
tion is  drawn   to   an  enormous  Holy  Ghost,  ap- 
pearing  to  descend   from   heaven,  a  decoration 
common  to  all  the  Greek  churches,  which  intro- 
duces the  Holy  Ghost  every  where.     In  the  mid- 
dle of  the  sanctuary  is  a  square  place,  w^here  the 
broken  ice  leaves^  a  communication  with  the  waters 
running  below,  and  the  rest   is  oniamented  with 
rich  tapestry.     Around  this  temple  there  is  erected 
a  kind  of  gallery,  which  communicates  with  one 
of  the  windows  of  the  imperial  palace,  at  which 
the  empress  and  her  family  come  out  to  attend  th€ 
ceremony;  which  begins  as  soon  as  the  regiment 


128  GREEK,  OR  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

of  guards  have  taken  post  on  the  river.  Then  the 
archbishop,  at  the  sound  of  the  bells,  and  of  the 
artillery  of  the  fortress,  comes  out  of  the  palace, 
and  walks  in  procession,  with  all  his  clergy  t€> 
the  little  ten^ple  we  have  just  mentioned.  When 
arrived  at  the  place  where  the  ice  is  broken,  he 
descends,  by  means  of  a  ladder,  to  the  side  of  the 
water.  There  he  dips  his  cross  three  or  fouv 
times,  afterwards  says  some  prayers,  an  orison  to 
the  great  St.  Nicholas,  and  the  waters  are  then 
thought  blessed.  The  prelate  sprinkles  the  w^ater 
on  the  company  around  him,  and  on  the  colours 
of  all  the  regiments  that  happen  to  be  at  6t.  Pe- 
tersburg, After  this  benediction,  the  archbishop 
retires^  Then  the  people  crawd  towards  the 
hole,  by  which  this  prelate  has  blessed  the  waters* 
They  drink  of  them  with  a  holy  avidity.  Not- 
withstanding the  cold,  the  mothers  plunge  their 
infants,  and  the  old  men  their  heads,  into  them. 
Every  body  makes  it  a  duty  to  carry  away  some 
for  the  purification  of  their  houses,  and  curing 
certain  distempers,  against  w^hich  the  good  Rus- 
sians pretend  this  holy  water  is  a  powerful  spe- 
cific. While  every  one  proceeds  to  this  useful 
provision,  four  popes,  who  are  at  the  four  corners 
of  the  sanctuary,  sing  a  kind  of  litany,  in  w^hich 
they  rehearse  all  the  titles  of  the  empress,  and  to 
which  the  people  answer  by  these  words.  Fame- 
loi  Bog — ^May  God  take  pity  on  her  ! 


GREEK,  OR  RUSSIAN  CHURCH.  12P 

^'  The  Russians  have  a  great  number  of  absti- 
nences, or  fasts,  and  among  the  rest  four  lents. 
'^  The  Greek  priests  have  much  more  rever- 
ence and  meditation  in  their  way  of  gomg  through 
divme  service,  than  the  Latin  or  Romish  priests  ; 
and  the  discipline  of  the  church  directs,  that 
when  once  a  priest  is  at  the  altar,  he  must  not  re- 
move from  it  during  the  time  he  ought  to  stand 
there,  whatever  may  happen  to  him.  For  in- 
stance ;  we  are  told,  that  the  prelate  Gabriel,  at 
present  metropolitan  of  Novogorod,  and  Archi^ 
mandrite,  to  St.  Alexander  Neuski^  being  one  day 
engaged  in  saying  mass  at  St.  Petersburg,  the 
house  contiguous  to  the  church  took  fire,  and  the 
flames  reaching  the  steeple,  Gabriel  v»^as  warned 
of  the  danger  he  was  in,  and  yet  he  stirred  not, 
even  although  he  was  told  a  second  time,  that  the 
bells  would  not  be  long  in  biuising  him  to  atoms* 
As  the  cries  of  the  multitude,  conjuring  him  to 
remove  from  certain  death,  made  no  impression 
on  him,  one  of  his  relations  leaped  towards  the 
altar,  and  tore  him  from  it.  Scarcely  was  he 
twenty  paces  from  it,  w^hen  the  steeple  fell  in 
with  a   great  crash  upon  the  sanctuary  !'' 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  join  the  Greek  to- 
the  reformed  church  ;  but  hitherto  they  have 
failed  of  success.  The  Rev.  Dr..  John  King  pub- 
lished an  account  of  the  doctrine,  worship,  and 
discipline  of  the  Greek  church  in  Russia.     There 


130  GREEK,  OR  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

are  several  particulars  to  \>e  found  in  the  Russian 
Catechism,  composed  by  the  Czar,  and  which  was 
pubhshed  in  London,  1725  j  in  Robinson's  £e- 
clesiastical  Researches,  and  in  a  work  not  long 
ago  published,  entitled.  Secret  Memoirs  of  the 
Court  of  Petersburg. 

That  the  reader  may  form  some  judgment  of 
the  -present  state  of  the  Greek  church,  the  last 
mentioned  work  presents  us  with  the  following 
fact,  translated  from  the  Imperial  Gazettee  of 
Petersburg  : 

Petersburg,  I7th  Dec.  17Q&. 

*'  In  1796,  a  coffin  was  found  at  the  convent 
©f  Sumovin,  in  the  city  of  Trotma,  in  the  epar- 
chy of  Volgoda,  containing  a  corpse,  in  the  habit 
©f  a  monk.  It  had  been  interred  in  1568,  yet 
was  in  a  state  of  perfect  preservation,  as  were 
also  the  garments.  From  the  letters  embroidered 
jon  them,  it  w^as  found  to  be  the  body  of  the  most 
memorable  Feodose  Sumorin,  founder  and  su- 
perior of  the  convent,  and  who  had  been  ac- 
knowledged as  a  saint  during  his  life,  for  the 
miracles  he  had  performed.''  It  is  then  stated, 
that  the  directing  synod  had  made  a  very  humble 
report  on  this  occasion  to  his  Imperial  Majesty. 
After  w^hich  follows  the  Emperor's  ukase  or  pro^ 
clamation. 

*^  We  Paul,  &c.  having  been  certified  by  a 
special  report  of  the  most  holy  synod,  of  the  di3- 


GREEK,  OR  RUSSIAN  CHURCH.  131 


covery  that  has  been  made  in  the  convent  of 
Spasso-Sumovin,  of  the  miraculous  remains  of  the 
most  venerable  Feodose,  which  miraculous  re- 
mains distinguished  themselves  by  the  happy  cure 
of  all  those  who  have  recourse  to  them  with 
entire  confidence  :  we  take  the  discovery  of 
these  holy  remains  as  a  visible  sigUy  that  the 
Lord  has  cast  his  most  gracious  eye  in  the  most 
distinguished  manner  on  our  reign.  For  this 
reasoji,  we  offer  our  fervent  prayers  and  our  gra- 
titude to  the  supreme  Dispenser  of  all  things,  and 
charge  our  most  holy  synod  to  announce  this 
memorable  discovery  throughout  all  our  empire^ 
s^ccording  to  the  forms  prescribed  by  the  hoiy 
church,  and  by  the  holy  fathers,  &c.  The  28th 
September,  1798." 

The  following  anecdote,  however,  from  the 
same  work,  and  on  the  same  subject,  almost  ex- 
ceeds credibility  ; — "  I  knew  a  Russian  princess, 
who  had  always  a  large  silver  crucifix  follow- 
ing her,  in  a  separate  carriage,  and  which  she 
usually  placed  in  her  bed-chamber.  When  any 
thing  fortunate  had  happened  to  her  in  the  course 
of  the  day,  and  she  was  satisfied  with  her  admir- 
ers, she  had  lighted  candles  placed  about  the  cru- 
cifix, and  said  to  it  in  a  familiar  style — ^^  See^ 
now,  as  you  have  been  very  good  to-day,  you 
shall  be  treated  well — you  shall  have  candles  all 
ni^lit — ^^I  will  love  you— I  will  pray  to  you.''    If 


132  OREEK,  OR  RUSSIAN  CHURCH. 

on  the  contrary,  any  thing  occurred  to  vex  this 
lady,  she  had  the  candles  put  out,  forbid  the  ser- 
vants to  pay  any  homage  to  th€  poor  image,  and 
loaded  it  with  reproaches  and  revilings ! !  !"  The 
sluthor  closes  the  chapter  with  this  sensible  para- 
graph— ^^  I  shall,  not  particularize  all  the  super- 
stitions with  which  such  a  religion,  if  it  deserves 
that  name,  must  necessarily  inspire  an  ignorant 
aind  enslaved  people.  It  seems  the  present  policy 
Jto  thicken  the  clouds  of  error,  which  the  genius 
of  Peter,  the  humanity  of  Elizabeth,  and  the  phi- 
tosqDhy  of  Catharine,  sought  in  some  degree  to 
attenuate.  While  we  pity  the  state  of  degrada* 
tion  under  which  a  great  people  crouches,  we 
should  do  justice  to  the  enlightened  Russians,  by 
whom  it  is  lamented,  but  they  are  chained  by  pre- 
judices, as  the  giant  Gulliver,  by  the  Lilliputians  ; 
his  bonds  were  w^eak  and  imperceptible  as  his 
enemies  were  minute,  but  every  one  of  his  hairs 
were  seperately  fastened  to  the  ground,  and  he 
was  unable  to  raise  his  head.'* 

In  addition  to  the  books  already  mentioned,  I 
shall  close  this  article  of  the  Greek  Churchy  wuth 
recommending  Mr.  Tooke'S  History  of  Russia, 
which  may  be  satisfactorily  consulted  on  this  as 
well  as  on  other  subjects ;  it  is  replete  with  in- 
formation. 


PROTESTANTSr.  1SK5 


PROTESTJNTS. 

UNDER  the  appellation  of  Protestants,  we 
include  all  who  dissent  from  Popery,  in  whatever 
country  they  reside,  or  into  whatever  sects  they 
have  been  since  distributed.  Abroad  they  are 
divided  into  two  sorts — the  Lutherans,  who  ad- 
here to  Luther^s  tenets  ;  and  the  Reformed,  who 
follow  the  discipline  of  Geneva.  They  were 
called  Protestants,  because,  in  1592,  they  jiro- 
tested  against  a  decree  of  the  Emperor  Charles 
the  Fifth,  and  declared,  that  they  appealed  to  a 
general  council.  At  present  this  vast  class  com- 
prehends those  whom  Papists  used  contemptu- 
ously to  sty!e  Hugonots  in  France  ;  the  RefU" 
gees  in  Holland,  who  fled  thither  upon  the  revo- 
cation of  the  edict  of  Nantz,  1685  ;  the  Presby^ 
terians  in  Scotland ;  the  Episcopalians  and  Non- 
conformists in  England  ;  together  with  a  nume- 
rous body  of  Christians  in  America. 

As  the  Protestants  originated  at  the  refor* 
MATION,  it  will  be  proper  to  give  a  brief  account 
of  this  illustrious  period  of  ecclesiastical  history* 


134  PROTESTANTS. 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  GERMANY. 

FOR  the  three  first  centuries  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ  stood  on  its  own  basis,  was  rapidly 
propagated  among  Jews  and  Gentiles,  and  suffer- 
led  severe  persecutions  from  the  Roman  emperors. 
On  the  commencement  of  the  fourth  century, 
Constantine  became  a  convert  to  Christianity,  and 
incorporated  it  with  the  state.  **  It  was  not  till 
the  fifth,  or  near  the  sixth  century,  that  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  arrogantly  assumed  an  illegal  supremacy 
over  his  fellow  pastors,  and  in  process  of  time 
aimed  at  a  secular  government  of  princes  as  well 
as  subjects.  Though  several  emperors  embraced 
and  defended  Christianity,  yet  .the  gradual  decay 
of  the  Roman  empire  was  a  serious  impediment 
to  the  rising  preachers  of  the  newly  established 
religion.  Those  accomplisements  which  adorn- 
ed the  conquests  of  the  Romans,  and  the  perfec- 
tion of  science,  which  had  dignified  their  state, 
in  such  an  extent,  w^ere  gradually  swept  away  by 
the  barbarous  nations  w4iich  defeated  them,  and 
the  close  of  the  sixth  century  could  not  trace^  a 
vestige  of  that  exalted  nation's  government,  or  its 
laws.  Between  four  and  five  hundred  years  was 
fhe  glorious  luminary  of  the  gospel  eclipsed  by 
the  dismal  return  of  ignorance  and  of  superstition.* 


*  Tlie  Crusades,  commoijly  called  the  ^ofy  •wars,  were  expe 
dftions  undertaken  by  the  Papists  to  drive  the  Turks  from  Pa- 


PROTlE^TANTS.  1 35 

To  these  dark  ages  (as  they  are  by  some  justly 
termed,  and  by  others,  called  the  night  of  time) 
are  to  be  attributed  the  doctrine  of  indulgences, 
partial  absolution,  transubstantiation,  the  creation 
and  worship  of  saints,  purgatory,  monastic  seclu- 
sion, &c.  So  swift  was  the  extinction  of  knowl-^ 
edge,  and  its  revival  so  impeded,  that  persons  of 
the  greatest  eminence  in  point  of  station  could 
scarcely  read  or  write.     The  clergy    themselves^ 

lestire,  or  the  land  of  Judea,  and  thus  to  rescue  the  holy  sepul- 
chre out  of  the  hands  of  Infidels.  There  were  eight  of  theser 
aiisades,  the  first  in  the  year  1096,  the  la&t  in  1270,  assisted 
by  Prince  Edward,  afterwards  Edward  I.  King  of  England. 
Tlie  number  of  lives  lost  inr  these  Quixotic  expeditions,  is  incre- 
dible !  and  it  will  remain  to  future  ages  a  matter  of  astonish- 
ment, how  enthusiasm  and  superstition  could  so  completely  in- 
fatuate the  human  mind.  An  account  of  the  Crusadas  is  given 
in  Robertson's  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  in  Hume's  History  of 
England. 

The  Inquisition  was  a  tribunal  erected  by  the  Popes  for  the 
examination  and  punishment  of  heretics*  It  was  founded  in 
tlie  twelfth  century,  by  Father  Dominic  and  his  followers,  who 
were  sent  by  Pope  Innocent  the  Third  to  inquire  into  the  num- 
ber and  quality  of  heretics,  and  then  to  send  an  account  to 
Rome.  Hence  they  were  termed  Inquisitors,  and  their  court 
the  Inquisition,  This  infernal  court  was  established  in  all  Italy 
and  the  dominions  of  Spain,  except  Naples  and  the  Low  Coun- 
tries. Its  cruelties  were  shocking  beyond  description  •,  and 
were  only  one  half  of  the  bloociy  tale  true,  yet  even  then  there 
is  sufficient  to  freeze  you  with  horror  I  See  Dr.  Chandler's 
History  of  the  Inquisition,  whidi  13  full  of  interesting  infoiin*- 
tion  on  the  subject. 


136  PROTESTANTSr 


who  engrossed  what  little  science  was  remahiing, 
could  scarcely  translate  the  liturgy  :  and^  when 
ordained,  were  expressly  obliged  to  affirm,  that 
they  could  read  the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  and 
explain  them. 

'^  The  REFORMATION  was  effected  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  by  the  pious  labours  and  unwea- 
ried studies  of  those  bright  characters,  Erasmus, 
Luther,  Huss,  Jerome  of  Prague,  &c.  and  as  it 
should  seem  the  particular  act  of  Providence  to 
facilitate  their  labours,  and  extend  their  influence, 
we  find  but  half  a  century  before  the  days  of 
Luther,  the  science  of  printing  was  discover- 
ed, and  not  long  before  that  of  the  making  of 
paper. 

^^  This  indefatigable  reformer,  having  the  way 
somewhat  cleared  for  him  by  Erasmus,  had  the 
happiness  to  discover  a  copy  of  the  Bible  in  the 
neglected  library  of  his  monastery.  From  so 
valuable  a  discovery  the  talents  and  application 
of  this  great  man  were  called  forth  into  more 
than  ordinary  exercise  ;  and  he  quickly  drew 
aside  the  veil  which  had  concealed  the  rooted 
errors  and  abominations  of  the  priesthood,  and 
exposed  the  craft  and  artifice  which  had  deluded 
the  disciples,  and  disgraced  the  doctrine  of  the 
cross,  Unawed  by  persecuiton,  he  proceeded 
coolly  to  examine  into  the  several  pretensions  and 


PROTESTANTS.  137 

•  ■  ■  "t    *t       ■  .  "  ■    ■ 

inventions  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  over- 
threw them.  He  asserted  and  proved,  that  mo- 
nastic retirement,  if  not  contrary  to,  was  no 
where  required  by  the  laws  of  God  ;  and  pro- 
posed to  the  elector  of  Saxony,  by  whose  per- 
mission he  reformed  the  several  churches  within 
his  dominions,  to  expel  all  abbots  aftd  monksj 
and  to  convert  the  convents  of  mendicant  friars 
into  public  schools  and  hospitals.  He  proceeded 
to  expose  all  the  absurdities  and  superstitions  of 
the  Romish  church,  and  had  the  satisfaction  to  see 
his  cause  prevail."     BirciVs  Concilia. 

Dr.  Robertson  also  observes — ^*  It  was  fi'om 
causes  seemingly  fortuitous,  and  from  a  source 
very  inconsiderable,  that  all  the  mighty  effects  of 
the  REFORMATION  flowed.  Leo  the  Tenth, 
when  raised  to  the  papal  throne,  found,  the  re- 
venues of  the  church  exhausted  by  the  vast  pro- 
jects of  his  two  ambitious  predecessors,  Alexan- 
der the  vSixth,  and  Julius  the  Second.  His  own 
temper  naturally  liberal  and  enterprising,  render- 
ed him  incapable  of  that  severe  and  patient  oecon- 
omy  which  the  situation  of  his  iinances  re- 
quired. On  the  contrary,  his  schemes  for  ag- 
grandizing the  family  of  the  Medici,  his  love  of 
splendor,  his  taste  for  pleasure,  and  his  magnifi- 
cence in  rewarding  men  of  genius,  involved  him 
daily  in  new  expences  ;  in  order  to  provide  a  fund 
for  which,  he  tried  every  device  that  the  fertile 
L  2 


158  PROTESTANTS. 


invention  of  priests  had  fallen  upon  to  drain  the 
credulous  multitude.  Among  others,  he  had  re* 
course  to  a  sale  of  indulgencies.  The  right  of 
promulgating  these  indulgencies  in  Germany,  to- 
gether with  a  share  in  the  profits  arising  from  the 
sale  of  them,  was  granted  to  Albert,  Elector  of 
Mentz,  and  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  w^ho,  as 
his  chief  agent  for  retailing  them  in  Saxony,  em- 
ployed Tetzel,  a  Dominican  friar,  of  licentious 
morak^,  but  of  an  active  spirit,  and  remarkable 
for  his  noisy  and  popular  eloquence.  He  assist- 
ed by  the  monks  of  his  order,  executed  the  com- 
vnission  with  great  zeal  and  success,  but  with 
little  discretion  or  decency  ;  and  though,  by  mag- 
nifying excessively  the  benefit  of  their  indul- 
gences, and  disposing  of  them  at  a  very  low 
price,  they  carried  on  for  some  time  an  extensive 
and  lucrative  traflfic  among  the  credulous  multi- 
tude ;  the  extravagance  of  their  assertions,  as  w^eil 
as  the  irregularities  in  their  conduct,  came  at  last 
to  give  general  offence.  The  princes  and  nobles 
were  irritated  at  seeing  their  vassals  drained  of  so 
much  wealth,  in  order  to  replenish  the  treasury 
of  a  profuse  pontiff.  Men  of  piety  regretted  the 
delusion  of  the  people,  who,  being  taught  to  rely 
%r  the  pardon  of  their  sins  on  the  indulgences 
which  they  purclrased,  did  not  think  it  incuni- 
Dcnt  on  them  cither  to  abound  in  faith  or  to  prac- 
tise holiness,    JEven  the   most  unthi>iking  wer* 


PROTESTANTSr  139 

shocked  .at  the  scandalous  behaviour  of  Tet2^1 
and  his  associates,  who  often  squandered  in 
drunkenness,  gaming,  and  low  debauchery,  those 
sums  which  were  piously  bestowed,  in  hopes  of 
obtaining  eternal  happiness  ;  and  all  began  to 
wish  that  some  check  were  given  to  this  com- 
merce, no  less  detrimental  to  society,  than  de- 
structive to  religion. 

^*  The  corrupt  state  of  the  church  prior  to  the 
reformation,  is  acknowledged  by  an  author  who 
was  both  abundantly  able  to  judge  concerning 
this  matter,  and  who  was  not  over  forward  to 
confess  it." — ^^  For  some  years  (says  Bellarmine) 
before  the  Lutheran  and  Calvinistic  heresies  were 
published,  there  was  not,  as  contemporary  au- 
thors testify,  any  severity  in  ecclesiastical  judica- 
tories, any  discipline  with  regard  to  morals,  any 
knowledge  of  sacred  literature,  and  reverence  for 
divine  things  ;  there  was  not  almost  any  religion 
remaining."  Such  a  remarkable  confession^ 
made  by  the  avowed  champion  of  popery,  should 
not  pass  unnoticed  by  protestants ;  and  before  the 
enemies  of  Protestantism  inveigh  against  the  re- 
formation, let  them  consider  its  absolute  neces- 
sity, and  contemplate  the  innumerable  advantages 
with  which  it  was  attended. 

A  symbolical  representation  of  the  RSFQRMA- 
TiON  was  exhibited  before  Charles  the  ^^th,  and 
his  brother  Ferdinand^  at  Augsburg^  in  1530^  at 


140  PROTESTANTS* 


the  time  when  the  Lutherans  presented  their  con- 
fession of  faith  to  that  assembly.  As  the  princes 
were  at  table,  a  company  of  persons  offered  to 
act  a  small  comedy  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
company.  They  were  ordered  to  begin  ;  and 
first  entered  a  man  in  the  dress  of  a  doctor,  who 
brought  a  large  quantity  of  small  wood,  of  straight 
and  crooked  billets,  and  laid  it  on  the  middle  of 
the  hearth  and  retired.  On  his  back  was  written 
Reuchlin.  When  this  actor  w*ent  off,  another 
entered  apparelled  also  like  a  doctor,  who  at- 
tempted to  make  faggots  of  the  wood,  and  to  fit 
the  crooked  to  the  straight  ;  but  having  laboured 
long  to  no  purpose,  he  went  away  out  of  humour, 
and  shaking  his  head.  On  his  back  appeared  the 
name  of  Erasmus,  A  third  dressed  like  an  Au- 
gustinian  monk,  came  in  with  a  chaffing-dish  full 
of  fire,  gathered  up  the  crooked  wood,  clapped  it 
on  the  fire,  and  blew  it  till  he  made  it  burn,  and 
went  away  ;  having  upon  his  frock  the  name  of 
Luther.  A  fourth  entered,  dressed  like  an  Em- 
peror, who  seeing  the  crooked  wood  all  on  fire,  . 
seemed  much  concerned,  and  to  put  it  out,  drew 
his  sword,  and  poked  the  fire  with  it,  which  only 
made  it  burn  the  brisker.  On  his  back  wrs  writ- 
ten Charles  the  Vth.  Lastly,  a  fifth  entered  in 
his  pontifical  habit  and  triple  crown,  who  seemed 
extremely  surprised  to  see  the  crooked  billets  all 
on  fire^  and  by  hiu^  countenance  and  attitude  be- 


PROTESTANTS.  141 

trayed  excessive  grief.  Then  looking  about  on 
every  side  to  see  if  he  could  find  any  water  to 
extinguish  the  flame,  he  casts  his  eyes  on  two 
bottles  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  one  of  which  was 
full  of  oil,  and  the  other  of  water,  and  in  his 
hurry  he  unfortunately  seized  the  oil,  and  poured 
it  on  the  fire,  which  unfortunately  made  it  blaze 
so  violently,  that  he  was  forced  to  walk  off.  On 
his  back  was  written  Leo  the  Xth.^^ 

The  reader,  who  is  acquainted  with  the  history 
«f  the  REFORMATION,  will  perceive  the  pro- 
priety of  the  lively  representations  here  given  of 
those  several  characters,  who  were  instrumental 
in  bringing  about  that  memorable  event. 

Chillingworth,  addressing  himself  to  a 
Roman  writer,  speaks  of  the  religion  of  Pro- 
iestants  in  the  following  terms,,  worthy  to  be  in- 
scribed in  letters  of  gold. — ^^  Know  then.  Sir,  that 
when  I  say  the  religion  of  Protestants  is  in  pru- 
dence to  be  preferred  before  your's  ;  as,  on  the 
•ne  side  I  do  not  understand  by  your  religion  the 
doctrine  of  Bellarmine  or  Baronius,  or  any  other 
private  man  amongst  you,  nor  the  doctrine  of  the 
Sorbonne,  or  of  the  Jesuits,  or  of  the  Dominicans, 
•r  of  any  other  particular  company  among  you, 
but  that  wherein  you  all  agree,  or  profess  to 
agree.  The  Doctrine  of  the  Council  of  Trent  ; 
So  accordingly  on  the  other  side,  by  the  religion 
of  Protestants  I  do  not  understand  the  doctrine 


142  ,  PROTESTANTSr 

of  Luther  or  Calvin,  or  Melancthon,  nor  the 
confession  of  Jugsburg,  or  Geneva,  nor  the  Ca* 
techism  of  Heidelberg,  nor  the  articles  of  the 
Church  of  England — no,  nor  the  harmony  of 
Protestant  confessions  ;  but  that  wherein  they 
all  agree,  and  which  they  all  subscribe  with  a 
greater  harmony,  as  a  perfect  rule  of  faith  and 
action,  that  is,  THE  BIBLE  !  The  Bible,  I 
say,  the  Bible  only,  is  the  religion  of  Protestants- 
Whatsoever  else  they  believe  besides  it,  and  the 
plain,  irrefragable,  indubitable  consequences  of  it, 
well  may  they  hold  it  as  a  matter  of  opinion  ; 
but  as  a  matter  of  faith  and  religion,  neither  can 
they  with  coherence  to  their  own  grounds  believe 
it  themselves,  nor  require  belief  of  it  of  others, 
without  most  high  and  most  schismatical  pre- 
sumption. I,  for  my  part,  after  a  long,  (and  as 
I  verily  believe  and  hope)  impartial  search  of  the 
true  way  to  eternal  happiness,  do  profess  plainly, 
that  I  cannot  find  any  rest  far  the  sole  of  my  foot, 
but  upon  this  ROCK  only.  I  see  plainly,  and  with 
my  own  eyes,  that  there  are  Popes  against  Popes, 
and  councils  against  councils  ;  some  fathers 
against  other  fathers,  the  same  fathers  against 
themselves  :  a  consent  of  fathers  of  one  age, 
against  a  consent  of  fathers  of  another  age  ;  tra- 
ditive  interpretations  of  scripture  are  pretended, 
but  there  are  few  or  none  to  be  found  :  no  tradi- 
tion but  that  of  the  scripture  can  derive  itself  frons 


PROTESTANTS.  143 


the  fountain,  but  may  be  plainly  proved  either  to 
have  been  brought  in,  in  such  an  age  after  Christ, 
or  that  in  such  an  age  it  was  not  in.  In  a  word, 
there  is  no  sufficient  certainty  but  of  scripture 
only  for  any  considering  man  to  build  upon. 
This,  therefore,  and  this  only,  I  have  reason  to 
believe.  This  I  will  profess  ;  according  to  this^ 
I  will  live ;  and  for  this,  if  there  be  occasion,  I 
will  not  only  willingly,  but  even  gladly  lose  my 
life,  though  I  should  be  sorry  that  Christians 
should  take  it  from  me. 

^*  Propose  me  any  thing  out  of  the  book,  and 
require  whether  I  believe  or  no,  and  seem  it  never 
«o  incomprehensible  to  human  reason,  I  will 
subscribe  it  with  hand  and  heart,  as  knowing 
no  demonstration  can  be  stronger  than  this,  God 
hath  said  so,  therefore  it  is  true.  In  other 
things  I  will  take  no  man's  liberty  of  judging 
from  him ;  neither  shall  any  one  take  mine  from 
.me. ,  I  will  think  no  man  the  worse  maUy  nor 
the  worse  Christian  ;  I  will  love  no  man  the 
less  for  differing  in  opinion  from  me.  And 
what  measure  I  mete  to  others,  I  expect  from 
them  again.  I  am  fiilly  assured  that  God  decs 
not,  and  therefore  men  ought  not,  to  require  any 
more  of  any  man  than  this — ^^  To  believe  the 
scripture  to  be.  God^s  word  ;  to  endeavour  to 
Jmd  the  true  sense  of  it,  and  to  live  according 


144  fROTESTANTS. 

"■    ■   '         '    ~.     '  ==3— eggsscg 


io  z(."*  Chillingvvorth^s  Works^  fol.  edit.  1 742. 
It  may  be  proper  to  add,  that  Chillingworth  was 
a  learned  divine  of  the  church  of  England, 
and  lived  in  the  reign  of  Charles   the  First.     In 

*  Our  English  translation  of  the  Bible  was  made  in  the  time 
and  by  tlie  appointment  of  James  the  First.  According  to 
Fuller,  tlie  list  of  the  translators  amounted  to  forty-seven.  Tliis 
number  was  arranged  under  six  divisions,  and  several  parcels 
©f  the  Bible  assigned  them.  Every  one  of  the  company  was 
to  translate  the  whole  parcel  ;  then  they  were  to  compare  these 
together,  and  wlien  any  company  had  finished  their  part  they 
were  to  communicate  it  to  the  other  companies,  so  that  no* 
thing  should  pass  without  general  consent.  Tlie  names  of  the 
persons  and  places  where  they  met  together,  with  the  portions 
of  scriptures  assigned  eacli  company,  are  to  be  found  in  Jo^n* 
iofi*s  Historical  Account  0} the  several  translations  of  the  Bibie, 
These  good  and  learned  men  entered  on  their  work  in  the 
spring,  1607,  and  three  years  elapsed  before  the  translation 
was  finished. 

From  the  mutability  of  language,  the  variation  of  customs* 
and  the  progress  of  knowledge,  several  passages  in  the  Bible 
require  to  be  newly  translated,  or  to  be  materially  corrected. 
Hence,  in  the  present  age,  when  biblical  literature  has  been 
assiduously  cultivated,  different  parts  of  the  sacred  volume 
have  been  translated  by  able  hands.  The  substituting  • 
new  translation  of  tlie  Bible  in  the  room  of  the  one  now  in 
common  use,  has  been  much  debated.  Dr.  Knox,  in  liis  in- 
genious essays,  together  with  others,  argues  against  it,  whilst 
Dr.  Newcome,  the  late  Lord  Primate  of  Ireland,  tlie  late 
Dr.  Geddes,  of  the  Catholic  persuasion,  and  the  late  Rev.  Gil* 
bert  Wakefield,  contend  strenously  for  it.  The  correction 
of  several  passages,  howerer,  would  deprive  Deists  of  many 


PROTESTANTS.     ^  145 


the  earlier  part  of  life  he  embraced  the  Romish 
rehgion  ;  but  having  found,  after  the  most  im- 
partial investigation,  that  it  was  false  and  incon* 
elusive,  he  returned  to  the  communion  of  the 
church  of  England,  and  vindicated  the  Protestant 
religion,  in  a  work  entitled.  The  Religion  of 
Protestants  a  Safe  Way  to  Heaven.  This  work^ 
though  a  folio  volume,  has  gone  through  many 
editions,  and  contmues  to  be  held  in  estimation 
even  to  the  present  day. 

Before  we  quit  the  subject  of  the  REFOKMA- 
TION,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  add  a  short  ac- 
count of  the  Lutherans.  It  has  been  already 
said,  that  the  Protestants  were  at  first  divided 
into  the  Lutherans,  who  adhere  to  Luther'^-  te- 
nets and  the  Reformed,  who  follow  the  doctrine 
and  discipline  of  Geneva.  In  other  words,  Lu- 
ther was  at  the   head   of   one  party  ;  Calvin  the 

of  tlieir  objections,  prevent  Christians  from  being  misled  into 
some  absurd  opinions,  and  be  the  means  of  making  the  scrip- 
tures more  intelligible,  and  consequently  moi"e  beneficial  to  the 
world. 

Dr.  Alexander  Geddes,  at  liis  decease,  had  got  as  far  as  the 
Psalms  in  the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament.  Dr.  New~ 
.  come  and  Mr.  Wakefield,  published  entire  translations  of  the 
New  Testament,  of  singular  merit  and  ability.  The  Rev.  Ed- 
mund Butcher,  also,  of  Sidmouth,  has  laid  before  the  public  9 
Family  Bible,  in  which  many  of  the  errors  of  the  common  trans- 
lation are  corrected,  and  notes  added  by  way  of  illustration 
wliilst  the  text  broken  down  into  daily  lessons^  is  hax)pily  adapted 
to  the  purposes  of  family  devotion. 
M 


146  LUTHERANS. 


chief  of  the  other.  The  tenets  of  the  latter  have 
been  specified  ;  those  of  the  former,  thjerefore, 
are  the  present  subject  of  enquiry. 


LUTHERANS. 

THE  LuiheranSy  of  all  protestants,  are  those 
who  differ  least  from  the  Romish  church,  as  they 
affirm  that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  ma^ 
terially  present  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  though  in  an  incomprehensible  manner  ; 
they  likewise  represent  some  religious  rites  and 
institutions,  as  the  use  of  images  in  churches,  the 
distinguishing  vestments  of  the  clergy,  the  pri- 
vate confession  of  sins,  the  use  of  wafers  in  the 
administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  form  of 
exorcism  in  the  celebration  of  baptism,  and  other 
ceremonies  of  the  like  nature  as  toleiable,  and 
£ome  of  thenn  useful.  The  Lutherans  maintain 
with  regard  to  the  divine  decrees,  that  they  re- 
spect the  salvation  or  misery  of  men,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  previous  knoxdedge  of  their  senti- 
ments and  characters,  and  not  as  founded  on  the 
mere  ivill  of  God,  which  is  the  tenet  of  the 
Calvinists.  Towards  the  close  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, the  Lutherans  began  to  entertain  a  greater 
liberality  of  sentiment  than  they  had  before  adopt- 
ed^  though  in  many  places  they  persevered  lone 


LUTHERANS.  147 


er  in  severe  and  despotic  principles  than  other 
protestant  churches.  Their  public  teachers  now 
enjoy  an  unbounded  liberty  of  dissenting  from 
ihe  decisions  of  those  symbols  of  creeds,  which 
were  once  deemed  almost  infallible  rules  of  faith 
and  practice,  and  of  declaring  their  dissent  in  the 
manner  they  judge  most  expedient.  Mosheim 
attributes  this  change  in  their  sentiments  to  the 
maxim  which  they  generall}^  adopted,  that  CliHs- 
tians  xvere  accountable  to  God  alone ^  for  their 
religious  opijiions  ;  and  that  no  individual  could 
be  justly  punished  by  the  magistrate  for  his  erro- 
neous opinions,  while  he  conducted  himself  like 
a  virtuous  and  obedient  subject  and  made  no  at- 
tempts to  disturb  the  peace  and  order  of  civil 
society. 

It  may  be  added,  that  Luther's  opinion  respect- 
ing the  sacrament,  is  termed  Consubstantiation^ 
and  he  supposed  that  the  partakers  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  received  along  with  the  bread  and  wine 
the  real  body  and  blood  of  Christ^  This,  says 
Dr.  Mosheim,  in  their  judgment  was  a  mystery, 
which  they  did  not  pretend  to  explain..  But  his 
-translator.  Dr.  Maclaine,. justly  remarks,  "  That 
Luther  was  not  so  modest  as  Dr.  Mosheim  here 
represents  him.  Ke  pretended  to  explain  this 
doctrine  of  the  real  presence^  absurd  and  contra- 
dictory  as  it  is,  and  uttered  much  senseless  jargon 
on  the  subject.     As  in  a  red-hot  iron^  said  he^ 


148  JLtJTHERANc 


two  distinct  substances,  viz.  iron  and  Jire  are 
)mited,  so  is  the  body  of  Christ  jomed  with  the 
bread  in  the  eucharist*  I  mention  this  miserable 
comparison,  to  shew  into  what  absurdities  th^ 
towering  pride  of  system  will  often  betray  me}\ 
of  deep  sense  and  true  genius." 

Such  is  the  account  given  of  the  LUTHERANS 
in  a  respectable  work,  and  it  appears  to  be  found- 
ed in  truth.  I  shall  only  remark,  that  according 
to  the  above  sketch,  Lutlier  differed  considerably 
from  Calvin,  respecting  election  and  reprobation, 
and  as  to  the  principle,  that  Christians  are  ac- 
countable  to  God  alone,  for  their  religious  opin- 
ions, it  is  a  sentiment  worthy  of  a  great  and  ele- 
vated mind.  It  is  the  corner  stone  on  which  the 
reformation  has  been  raised.  It  is  the  only  true 
foundation  of  religious  improvement,  and  wherc- 
ever  it  is  sincerely  embraced,  will  check  every 
degree  of  uncharitableness  and  persecution^  and 
forward  the  blessed  reign  of  love  and  charity 
amongst  the  professors  of  Christianity.* 

*  In  5''Zi'//>'/  well  known  Ta/e  of  a  Tub,  he  satirises  three 
distinct  classes  of  religious  professors- — the  Church  of  Rome 
under  the  appellation  of  Ptter^  whose  keys  for  an  admission  into 
heaven  are  supposed  to  be  in  their  possession — the  Church  of 
England,  under  the  name  of  Martin,  because  its  reformation  ori- 
ginated with  Martin  Luther — and  the  Dissenters  under  the 
name  oiJack^  on  account  of  the  principles  of  Jolm  Calvin  being 
so  prevalent  Mnongst  them. 


HUGONOTS*  14© 


HUGONOTS. 

THE  appellation  Hugonois,  was  given  to  the 
French  Protestants  in  1561.  The  term  is  (by 
some  supposed  to  be  derived  from  a  gate  in 
Tours^  called  Hugon,  where  they  first  assem- 
bled. According  to  others,  the  name  is  taken 
from  the  first  words  of  their  original  protest,  or 
confession  of  faith — Hue  nos  venimuSj  &c. 
During  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Ninth,  and  on 
the  24th  of  August,  1572,  happened  the  mas- 
sacre of  Bartholomew,  when  70,000  Protes- 
tants throughout  France  were  butchered,  with 
circumstances  of  aggravated  cruelty.  It^  began 
at  Paris  in  the  night  of  the  festival  of  Bartholo- 
mew, by  secret  orders  from  Charles  the  Ninth, 
at  the  instigation  of  hia  mother,  the  Queen 
Dowager  Catherine  de  Medicis.  See  Sully's 
Memoirs,  and  also  a  fine  description  of  it  in  the 
second  canto  of  Voltaire's  Henriade, 

In  1598,  Henry  the  Fourth  passed  the  famous 
Edict  of  NantZy  which  secured  to  his  old  friends 
the  Protestants  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion. 
This  edict  was  cruelly  revoked  by  Lewis  the 
Fourteenth.  Their  churches  were  then  erased  to 
the  ground  ;  their  persons  insulted  by  the  soldiery, 
and,  after  the  loss  of  innumerable  lives,  50,000 
H2 


ISO  HUGONOTS* 


valuable  members  of  society  were  driven  into  ex- 
ile !  In  Holland  they  built  several  places  of  wor- 
ship, and  had  among  them  some  distinguished 
preachers.  Among  others  were  Superville,  Du- 
mont,  Dubosc,  and  the  elegant  Saurin,  five  vol- 
umes of  whose  select  sermons  were  translated  in- 
to our  language  by  the  late  Mr.  Robinson  of  Cam- 
bridge, and  the  sixth  by  the  late  Dr.  Hunter.  In 
one  of  these  sermons  Saurin  makes  the  following 
fine  apostrophe  to  the  tyrant,  Lewis  the  Four- 
teenth, by  whom  they  were  driven  into  exile,  it 
breathes  a  noble  spirit  of  Christianity — ^<  And 
thou,  dreadful  prince,  w^hom  1  once  honoured  as 
my  king,  and  whom  I  yet  respect  as  a  scourge  in 
the  hand  of  Almighty  God,  thou  also  shalt  have  a 
part  in  my  good  wishes  !  These  provinces,  which 
lliou  threatenest,  but  which  the  arm  of  the  Lord 
protects. ;  this  country,  which  thou  fillest  with  re- 
fugees, but  fugitives  animated  with  love  :  these 
walls,  which  contain  a  thousand  martyrs  of  thy 
shaking,  but  whom  religion  renders  victorious, 
all  these  3''et  resound  benedictions  in  thy  favour. 
God  grant  the  fatal  bandage  that  hides  the  truth 
from  thy  eyes  may  fall  oiF  !  May  God  forget  the 
rivers  of  blood  with  which  thou  hast  deluged  the 
earth,  and  which  thy  reign  hath  caused  to  be 
shed  !  May  God  blot  out  of  his  book  the  injuries 
which  thou  hast  done  us,  and  while  he  rewards 
the  sufferers,  may  he  pardon   those  who  exposed 


HtTGONOTS.  151 


US  to  suffer  !  O  may  God,  who  hath  made  thee 
to  us,  and  to  the  whole  w^orld,  a  minister  of  his 
judgments,  make  thee  a  dispenser  of  his  favours, 
and  administrator  of  his  mercy  !'* 

About  the  time  of  the  revolution,  1688,  there 
were  many  controversies  between  the  Protestant 
and  the  Popish  divines.  Tillotson  and  Burnet, 
two  clergymen  of  the  church  of  England,  ren- 
dered Protestantism  great  service  by  their  writ- 
ings ;  and  were,  on  that  account,  elevated  to  the 
Bench  by  King  William  of  immortal  memory. 
There  are  also  two  excellent  volumes  of  Sermons 
against  Popery,  preached  in  the  early  part  of 
last  century,  by  various  dissenting  ministers,  at 
Salter'^s  Hall.  See  also  a  sermon  by  the  Rev. 
Robert  Winter,  entitled,  '^  Rejections  on  the 
present  State  of  Popery,^^  delivered  at  Salter's 
Hall,  November  1800  ;  from  the  perusal  of 
which  the  reader  will  find  much  satisfaction. 
Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation,  and  The 
History  of  his  Own  Times,  published  after  his 
death  by  his  son,  are  two  works  which  throw 
light  on  the  state  of  religion  in  the  last  and  pre- 
ceding centuries  among  Papists,  Churchmen,  and 
Dissenters.  The  merit  of  these  publications, 
particularly  the  latter,  is  judiciously  appreciated 
by  Dr.  Kippis,  under  the  article  Burnet,  in  the 
Biographia  Britannica*     To  these  may  now  be 


152  EPISCOPALIANS. 

added  a  Dejence  of  Protestantism^  by  Dr.  Stur- 
geSy  in  his  answer  to  Mr.  Milner,  who,  in  his 
Historii  of  Winchestery  takes  every  opportunity 
of  reprobating  the  protestant  religion,  and  of 
erecting  on  its  ruins  his  beloved  edifice  of  po- 
pery, Dr.  S.  shews  the  rise,  progress,  and  ten- 
dency of  the  Romish  religion  ;  animadverts  with 
spirit  on  the  calumnies  by  which  his  antagonist 
had  endeavoured  to  blacken  the  characters  of  the 
reformers  :  and,  finally,  he  proves  the  protestant 
re^gion  bj^  its  views  of  the  Divine  Being,  and  by 
its  regards  for  the  rights  of  mankind,  to  be  the 
mly  true  and  primitive  Christianity, 


EPISCOPALIANS  ; 

OR, 

CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 

THE  Episcopalians,  m  the  modern  accepta- 
tion  of  the  term,  belong  more  especially  to  the 
Church  of  England,  and  derive  this  title  from 
Episcopus,  the  Latin  word  for  bishop  ;  or,  if  it 
be  referred  to  its  Greek  origin,  from  ScopeOy  to 
look,  Epi  over,  implying  the  care  and  dilligence 
with  which  bishops  are  expected  to  preside  over 
those  committed  to  their  guidance  and  direction. 
They  insist  on  the  divine  origin  of  their  bishops'. 


EPISCOPALIANS.  153 

and  other  church  officers,  and  on  the  alliance  be- 
tween the  church  and  state.  Respecting  these 
subjects,  however,  Warburton  and  Hoadly,  to- 
gether with  others  of  the  learned  amongst  them, 
have  different  opinions,  as  they  have  also  on  their 
thirty-nine  articles  ;  which  were  established  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  They  are  to  be 
found  in  most  Common  Prayer  Books  ;  and  the 
Episcopal  church  in  America  has  reduced  their 
number  to  twenty.  By  some,  these  articles  are 
made  to  speak  the  language  of  Calvinism,  and  by 
others  have  been  interpreted  in  favour  of  Armin- 
ianism.  Even  at  this  time  the  controversy  is  agi- 
tated— and  the  publications  of  Overton,  Kipling, 
and  Daubeny,  together  with  the  recent  Charge  of 
the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  may  be  consulted  on  the 
subject.  The  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the 
Church  of  England  are  nearly  connected  with  the 
reformation  of  Luther  in  Germany,  and  also  with 
the  state  of  ecclesiastical  affairs  foi*  a  considerable 
time  before  that  reformation  commenced. 

Eusebius  possitively  asserts,  that  Christianity 
w^as  first  ijitroduced  into  South  Britain  by  the 
apostles  and  their  disciples  ;  and  it  is  supposed 
that  the  apostle  Paul  visited  this  country,  whose 
zeal,  diligence,  and  fortitude,  were  abundant.  It 
is  also  said,  that  numbers  of  persons  professed 
the  Christian  faith  here  about  the  year  150;  and 
according  to  Usher,  there  was  in  the  year  182,  a 


154      WICKLIFFITES  AND  LOLLARDS. 

school  of  learning,  to  provide  the  British  churches 
with  proper  teachers.  On  the  subject  of  the  first 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  this  island,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  first  volume  of  Henry-s 
History  of  Great  Britainy  where  his  curiosity 
will  be  gratified. 

John  Wickliffe,  educated  at  Oxford,  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  the  Third,  was  the  first  person 
in  this  country  who  publicly  questioned,  and 
boldly  refuted  the  doctrines  of  Popery.  He  left 
behind  him  many  followers,  who  were  called 
Wickliffites  and  Lollards  ;  the  latter  being  a 
term  of  reproach  taken  from  the  Flemsih  tongue. 
In  the  council  of  Constance,  1415,  the  memory 
and  opinions  of  WicklifFe  (who  died  peaceablj'  at 
Lutterworth,  1384,)  were  condemned,  and  soon 
after  his  bones  were  dug  up  and  burnt.  This  im- 
potent rage  of  his  enemies  served  only  to  pro- 
mote the  cause  of  reform  which  A'N'ickliffe  had 
espoused.  It  is  with  a  view  to  the  subsequent 
extension  of  his  doctrine  that  the  judicious  Rapia 
observes — ^^  His  ashes  were  thrown  into  the  brook 
which  runs  through  tiie  town  of  Lutterworth,  the 
brook  conveyed  the  ashes  to  the  Severn,  and  the 
Severn  to  the  Sea  !" 

The  Church  of  England  broke  off  from  the 
Romish  church  in  the  time  of  Henr}^  the  Eighth, 
when  (as  has  been  already  related)  Luther  had 
began  the  reformation  in  Germany.     In  earlier 


WICKLIPFITES  AND  LOLLARDS.  155 

and  during  the  earlier  part  of  his  reign,  Henry 
was  a  bigotted  Papist,  burnt  William  Tyndal,  wh© 
made  one  of  the  first  and  best  English  translations 
of  the  New  Testament^  and  wrote  fircely  in  de- 
fence of  the  seven  sacraments  against  Luther,  for 
which  the  Pope  honoured  him  with  the  title  De- 
fender of  the  Faith  !  This  title  is  retained  by 
the  kings  of  England  even  to  the  present  day, 
though  they  are  the  avowed  enemies  of  those 
opinions,  by  contending  for  which  he  acquired  that 
honourable  distinction.  Henry,  falling  out  with 
the  Pope,  took  the  government  of  ecclesiastical 
affairs  into  his  own  hands  ;  and,  having  reff^i-med 
many  enormous  abuses,  entitled  himself  Supreme 
Head  of  the  Church. 

-  When  the  reformation  in  England  first  took 
place,  efforts  were  made  to  promote  the  reading 
cf  the  scriptures  among  tlie  common  people. 
Among  other  devices  for  the  purpose,  the  follow- 
ing curious  one  was  adopted.  Bonner,  Bishop 
of  London,  caused  six  Bibles  to  be  chained  to  cer- 
tain convenient  places  in  St.  Paul's  church,  for 
all  that  were  so  well  inclined  to  resort  there  ;  to- 
gether with  a  certain  admonition  to  the  readers, 
fastened  upon  the  pillars  to  which  the  Bibles  were 
chained,  to  this  tenor — ^^  That  whosoever  came 
there  to  read,  should  prepare  himself  to  be  edi- 
fied, and  made  the  better,  thereby  ;  that  he  bring 
Avith  him  discretion,  honest  intent,  charity,  rever- 


156  WICKLIFFITES  AND  LOLLARDS. 

ence,  and  quiet  behaviour  ;  that  there  should 
no  such  numbermeet  together  there  as  to  make 
a  multitude  ;  that  no  such  exposition  be  made 
thereupon  but  what  is  declared  in  the  book  itself; 
that  it  be  not  read  with  noise  in  time  of  divine 
service,  or  that  any  disputation  or  contention  be 
used  about  it  ;  that  in  case  they  continued  their 
former  misbehaviour,  and  refused  to  comply  with 
these  directions,  the  king  would  be  forced  against 
his  will  to  remove  the  occasion,  and  take  the 
Bible  out  of  the  church,"  See  Johnson's  His- 
torical account  of  the  several  English  Translations 
of  the  Bible,  and  the  opposition  they  met  with 
from  the  Church  of  Rome. 

The  Church  of  England  is  governed  by  the 
KING,  who  is  the  supreme  head  :  by  two  arch- 
bishops, and  by  twenty-four  bishops.  The  bene- 
fices of  the  bishops  were  converted  by  William 
the  Conqueror  into  temporal  baronies  ;  so  that 
€very  prelate  has  a  seat  and  vote  in  the  House  of 
'Peers.  Dr.  Benjamin  Hoadley,  however,  in  a 
sermon  preached  from  this  text,  my  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world^  insisted  that  the  clergy  had  no 
pretensions  to  temporal  jurisdictions,  which  gave 
rise  to  various  publications,  termed  b}^  w-ay  of 
eminence  tlie  Bangarian  Controversy,  for  Hoad- 
ley was  then  Bishop  of   Bangor.-^      There  is    a 

*  Tlie  m^vnoTf  cf  tliis  eminent  prelate  Uas  been  insulted  by 


CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND.  157 


bishop  ofSodor  and  Man,  who  has  no  seat  m  the 
House  of  Peers  ;  and  a  late  prelate  of  this  see 
was  the  amiable  and  learned  Dr.  Wilson.  Since 
tlie  death  of  the  intolerant  Archbishop  Laud,  men 
of  moderate  principles  have  been  raised  to  the  see 
of  Canterbury,  and  this  hath  tended  not  a  little  to 
the  tranquihty  of  church  and  state.  The  estab- 
lished church  of  Ireland  is  the  same  as  the 
church  of  England,  and  is  governed  by  four  arch- 
bishops and  eighteen  bishops.  Since  the  union 
of  Ireland  with  Great  Britain,  four  only  of  these 
spiritual  Lords  sit  in  the  House  of  Lords,  assem- 
bled at  Westminster. 

In  the  course  of  the  last  century  disputes  arose 
among  the  English  clergy  respecting  the  propriety 
of  subscribing  to  any  human  formulary  of  religious 
sentiments.  An  application  for  its  removal  w^as 
made  to  Parliament  in  1772,  by  the  petition- 
ing clergy,  and  received,  as  it  deserved,  the  most 
public  discussion  in  the  House  of  Commons.  The 
third  edition  of  Archdeacon  Blackburn's  excellent 
Confessional,  was  published  1770,  two  years  pre- 
vious to  the  presentation  of  this  clerical  petition, 
when  the  long  controversy  in  consequence  of  the 
work,  was  closed,  and  indeed  introductory  to  the 
application  to  Parliament  pending,  by   w^hich    the 

Mr.  Miifier  in  liis  History  of  Winchester^  but  Mr.  Hoadley,  Ashe 
and  Dr.  Sturges  have  amply  vindicated  it. 
N 


138  CHURCH  OF   ENGLAND. 

controversy  was  renewed.  Mr.  Dyer-s  Treatise 
against  subscription,  appeared  many  years  after- 
wards. Some  respectable  clergymen  were  so  im- 
pressed with  the  impropriety  of  subscription,  that 
they  resigned  their  livings,  and  published  reasons 
for  their  conduct.  Among  these,  the  names  of 
Robertson^  Jebb,  Matty,  Lindsey,  and  Disney, 
will  be  long  remembered.  Several  others,  in- 
deed, resigned  preferments  held  by  the  same  tenure 
"for  similar  reasons,  without  giving  such  reasons 
to  the  public,  as  Mr.  Tyrwhitt,  Mr.  Wakefield, 
&c.  and  it  has  been  said  that  many  moi^  reluc- 
tantly continue  in  their  conformity,  under  the 
contest  between  their  convictions  and  their  ina- 
bility from  various  causes  to  extricate  themselves, 
Jbut  w^ho  will  never  repeat  their  subscriptions. 
The  Rev,  T.  Lindsey,  however,  withdrew  from 
the  church,  because  he  objected  to  the  trinity ; 
professing  to  worship  the  Father  only  as  one  true 
God,  to  the  exclusion  of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  as  objects  of  worship.  See  ^^  The 
Book  of  Common  Prayer  Reformed,^^  used  at 
Essex  *reet  Chapel ;  a  new  edition  of  which  ha^^ 
been  lately  published. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  amend  the  articles^ 

■  the  liturgy,  and  some  things  w^hich  related  to  the 

internal  government  of  the    church   of  Englandc 

Dr.  Watson,  the  present  Bishop  of  Landaff,  wrot 

a  Letter  to    the   Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  \ 


CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND.  156 


the  year  1781^  in  which  he  argues  for  the  pro- 
priety of  a  more  equal  distribution  of  salary 
among  the  different  orders  of  the  clergy.  But 
this  plan,  projected  by  the  worthy  prelate,  to« 
gether  with  the  preceding  proposals  for  reform  by 
the  authors  of  the  Free  and  Candid  Disquisi- 
tionsy  and  of  the  Appeal  to  Reason  and  Candor^ 
have  been  suffered  to  sink  into  oblivion.  The 
church  of  England  has  produced  a  succession  of 
eminent  men.  Among  its  ornaments  are  to  be 
reckoned  UslieVy  Rally  Taylor,  StilUngJieet^ 
Cudworthy  WilkinSy  TillotsoUy  Cumberland,  Bar- 
rowy  Burnet y  Pearson,  Hammondy  Whitby ,  Clark, 
Hoadley,  JortiUy  Seckery  Home,  Lowth,  and  War- 
burton.  In  the  Appendix  to  Mosheim^s  Ecclesi- 
astical History,  will  be  found  a  circumstantial 
account  of  the  correspondence  carried  on  in  the 
year  1718,  between  Dr.  Wm.  Wake,  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  and  certain  doctors  of  the  Sor- 
bonne,  of  Paris,  relative  to  a  project  of  union  be- 
tween the  English  and  Galilean  churches.  Hook- 
er^s  Ecclesiastical  Polity — Pearson  on  the  Creed, 
Burnet  on  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  Bishop 
Prettyman's  Elements  of  Theology,^  are  deem- 
ed the  best  defences  of  Episcopacj\ 

In   Scotland,  and  other  parts,  since  the  revolu- 


*  Mr.  Willijm  Frend^  the  celebrated  mathematician,  late  of 
Cambridge,  published  a  series  of  letters  to  this  prelate  by  way 
of  reply  to  certain  passages  in  his  Elements  of  Tb^logy, 


160  CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND. 

tion,  there  existed  a  species  of  Episcopalians  called 
Non-jurors,  because  being  inflexibly  attached  to 
the  StuartSy  who  were  then  driven  from  the 
throne,  they  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  Brimsimck  family.  On  the  decease,  how- 
ever, of  the  Pretender,  whom  the  Non-jurors 
stiled  Prince  Charles,  and  w^ho  died  at  Rome, 
1788,  they  complied  with  the  requisition  of  gov- 
ernment, and  now  the  distinction  isi  abolished. 
An  account  of  them  will  be  found  in  Bishop 
Skinner^s  Ecclesiastical  History. 

The  reformation  in  England,  began  under  the 
auspices  of  Henry  the  Eighth,  was  greatly  check- 
ed by  Mary,  who  proceeded  like  a  female  fury 
to  re-establish  Popery.  In  her  sanguinary  reign 
were  burnt  one  archbishop,  four  bishops,  twenty- 
one  divines,  eight  gentlemen,  one  hundred  and 
eighty-four  artificers,  and  one  hundred  husband- 
men, servants,  and  labourers  ;  twenty-six  wives, 
twenty  widows,  and  nine  virgins,  two  boys,  and 
two  infants  !  !  !  On  the  death  of  Mary,  1558, 
fihzabeth  ascended  the  throne,  repealed  the  laws 
which  had  been  established  in  favour  of  Popery, 
and  restored  her  supremacy.  In  these  matters 
she  wonderfully  succeeded,  since  of  v9,400  bene- 
ficed clergymen,  about  120  only  refused  to  com- 
ply with  the  reformation.  The  establisment  of 
Protestantism  in  Eijgland  underwent  various  fluc- 
tuations till  the  glorious  revolution  under  Wil- 


CHURCH  OF  ENGLAND.  161 

>  .     ■       ■  . 

liam,  in  1688,  placed  it  on  a  firm  and  permanent 
foundation.  The  family  of  the  Stuarts  were  bit- 
ter enemies  to  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of 
their  subjects,  and  violently  attached  to  Popery, 
Dr.  Goldsmith  tells  us,  in  his  history  of  England, 
that  James  the  Second,  in  endeavouring  to  con- 
vert his  subjects  to  the  Popish  religion,  descended 
so  low  as  Colonel  Kirke*  But  that  daring  and 
unprincipled  soldier  assured  his  majesty  that  he 
was  pre-engaged,  for  that  if  ever  he  did  change 
his  religion,  he  had  promised  the  Emperor  of  Mo- 
rocco when  quartered  at  Tangier,  to  turn  Ma- 
hometan ! 

Mn  Gisborne,  in  his  excellent  Familiar  Sur- 
vey of  the  Christian  Religion,  has  the  following 
remarks  on  church  government  : — ^^  In  every 
community  or  body  of  men,  civil  or  ecclesiasti- 
cal, some  species  of  government  is  requisite  for 
the  good  of  the  whole.  Otherwise  all  is  irregu- 
larity, and  interminable  confusion.  How  then 
in  any  particular  country  is  the  Christian  church 
to  be  governed  ?''  ^^  Every  separate  congrega- 
tion," answers  the  independent,  ^'  is  a  sovereign 
church  amenable  to  no  extrinsic  jurisdiction,  and 
entitled  to  no  jurisdiction  over  other  churches." 
^^  That  mode  of  government,"  replies  the  Pres^ 
lyterian,  ^^  is  calculated  to  destroy  union,  co-ope- 
ration, and  concord  among  Christians.  All  con- 
gregations within  the  same,  which  agree  in  doc- 


^52  CHURCH  OP  ENGLAND* 

trine,  ou^Kt  to  be  under  the  general  superin- 
tendence of  a  riepresentative  assembly  composed 
of  their  ministers  and  delegates.'^  "  Such  a  re- 
presentative assembly,"  returns  the  Episcopalian, 
^^  wants  vigour  and  dispatch,  and  is  perpetually 
open  to  tumult  &nd  partiality,  and  faction.  Di- 
vide the  country  into  dioceses,  and  station  a 
bishop  in  each,  armed  with  sufficient  authority, 
and  restrained  by  adequate  laws,  from  abusing  it. 
Such  was  the  apostolic  governiVient  of  the  church 
»— -such,  perhaps,"  he  adds,  '^  was  the  govern- 
ment enjoined  on  succeeding  ages."  ^^  Away," 
cries  the  Papist,  "  with  these  treasonable  discus- 
sions. The  Pope,  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  is 
by  divine  right  the  only  source  of  ecclesiastical 
power,  the  universal  monarch  of  the  universal 
church." 

Writing  as  I  am  to  Protestants,  I  nriay  pa^s  by 
the  claim  of  the  successor  of  St.  Peter.  But  the 
concluding  words  of  the  Episcopalian  are  of  prime 
importance.  If  Christ  or  his  apostles  enjoined 
the  uniform  adoption  of  Episcopacy,  the  question 
is  decided.  Did  Christ  then  or  his  apostles  de- 
liver or  indirectly  convey  such  an  injunction  ? 
This  topic  has  been  greatly  controverted.  The 
fact  appears  to  be  this — that  our  Saviour  did  not 
pronounce  upon  the  subject  ;  that  the  apostles 
uniformly  established  a  bishop  in  every  district, 
as  soon  as  the  church  in  that  district  became  iiu- 


dissenters;  163 


merous,  and  thus  clearly  evinced  their  judgment 
as  to  the  form  of  ecclesiastical  government,  most 
advantageous  at  least  in  those  days  to  Christian- 
ity ;  but  that  they  left  no  command^  which  ren- 
dered Episcopacy  universally  indispensible  in  fu- 
ture times,  if  other  forms  should  evidentiy  pro- 
mise, through  local  opinions  and  circumstances, 
greater  benefit  to  religion.  Such  is  the  general 
sentiment  of  the  present  church  of  England  on 
the  subject."  Bishop  Prettyman  has  expres$ed 
himself  much  after  the  same  manner  in  his  Ele- 
ments of  Theology.^  -^^, 


DISSENTERS. 

Dissenters  from  the  church  of  England  made 
their  first  appearance  in  dueen  Elizabeth's  time, 
when,  on  account  of  the  extraordinary  purity 
which  they  proposed  in  religious  worship  and 
conduct,  they  were  reproached  with  the  name  of 
Puritans.  They  were  greatly  increased  by  the 
act  of  uniformity,  which  took  place  on  Barthol- 
omew-day,   1662,  in    the    reign    of  Charles  the 

*  As  the  established  church  in  Ireland  is  the  same  with  that 
of  England —  so  are  also  the  Dissenters  of  much  the  same  com- 
plection.  The  Papists,  indeed,  are  very  numerous  there — as 
are  likewise  the  Presbyterians  in  the  North  of  Ireland.  Aber- 
nethy,  who  wrote  on  the  Attributes  of  God,  and  Duchal,  who 
wrote  on  the  Internal  Ruidences  of  Christianity  were  ministers 
of  eminence  amongst  tliem. 


164  BISSENTERSI. 


Second.  By  this  act  2,000  ministers  were  obli- 
ged to  quit  the  established  church,  refusing  to  con- 
form to  certain  conditions,  whence  they  were 
Galled  Nonconformists.  An  instructive  and  en- 
tertaining account  of  the  lives,  literature,  and 
piety  of  these  good  men,  is  to  be  found  in  Palmer^s 
NonconformisVs  Memorial^  of  which  work  there 
is  a  new  and  improved  edition,  lately  published  in 
three  volumes.  Their  descendants  are  know^n  by 
the  name  oi  Protestant  DissenterSy  and  rank  un- 
der the  three  respectable  denominations  of  Pres- 
byteriansj  Independents,  and  Baptists. 

Of  the  origin  and  progress  of  the  Dissenters, 
a  full  account  is  contained  in  NeaVs  History  of 
the  Puritans/^  an  improved  edition  of  which 
work  has  been  published  by  Dr.  Toulmin,  of 
Taunton,  who  has  accompanied  it  with  notes,  in 
which  are  obviated  the  objections  which  have 
been  made  to  it  by  Grey,  Maddox,  Warburton, 
and  others.  Here  the  historian  traces,,  step  by 
step,    the    differences  which  originally  occasion- 

*  It  is  remarkable,  that  little  notice  is  taken  in  this  work  of 
Joh  Bu/tjan,  the  celebrated  author  of  Pilgrim's  Progress  ;  he 
was  twelve  years  in  Bedford  Goal,  and  therefore  deserves  to 
have  been  particularly  mentioned,  were  it  only  for  liis  sufferings 
as  a  Protestant  Dissenter,  But  Crosby,  in  his  Jfistovy  of  the  Pa- 
pists, acaises  Neal  of  not  having  txeated  the  Baptists  in  that 
work  with  impartiality. 


DISSENTERS.  165 


ed  the  separation,  and  an  affecting  narrative  is 
given  of  the  sufferings  which  our  forefathers  were 
doomed  to  undergo  in  the  cause  of  religious  liber- 
ty. A  brief  history  of  the  Puritans  also  was 
published  in  1772,  of  which  the  author,  the  Rev. 
J.  Cornish,  has  given  an  enlarged  and  pleasing 
edition.  The  principles  on  which  the  Dissenters 
separate  from  the  church  of  England  are  much 
the  same  with  those  on  which  she  separates  her 
self  from  the  church  of  Rome.  They  may  be 
summarily  comprehended  in  these  three  ;  1.  The 
right  of  private  judgment.  2.  Liberty  of  Con- 
science. And  3.  The  perfection  of  scripture  as 
a  Christian's  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 

The  late  pious  and  learned  Dr.  Taylor,  of 
Norwich,  thus  expressed  himself  concerning  the 
principles  and  worship  of  the  Dissenters—*^  The 
principles  and  worship  of  Dissenters  are  not 
formed  upon  such  slight  foundation  as  the  un- 
learned and  thoughtless  may  imagine.  They 
were  thoroughly  considered  and  judiciously  re- 
duced to  the  standard  of  scripture  and  the  writ- 
ings of  antiquity,  by  a  great  number  of  men  of 
learning  and  integrit}^  I  mean  the  Bartholo- 
mew divines,  or  the  ministers  ejected  in  the  year 
1662,  men  prepared  to  lose  all,  and  to  suffer 
martyrdom  itself,  and  who  actually  resigned  their 
livings  (which  with  most  of  them  were,  under 
God^  all  that  they  and  their  families  had   to  sub-. 


166  DISSENTERSi 


sist  upon)  rather  than  sin  against  God  and  desert 
the  cause  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  which  to- 
gether with  serious    religion    would,    I    am    per 
suaded,  have  sunk  to  a  very  low  ebb    iii    the  na 
tion,  had  it  not  been  for  the  bold  and  noble  stand 
these  worthies  made  against  imposition  upon  con- 
science, prophaneness,  and  arbitrary  power.     They 
had  the  best  education  England  could  afford,  most 
of  them   were    excellent    scholars,    judicious  di- 
vines, pious,  faithful,  and    laborious    ministers,  of 
great  zeal  for  God  and   religion,  undaunted    and 
courageous  in  their  Master's   work,  standing  clos€ 
to  their  people  in  the  worst    of  times,   diligent  in 
their  studied,  solid,  affectionate,  powerful,  awaken- 
ing preachers,  aiming  at  the  advancement  of  real 
vital  religion  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men,  which 
it  cannot  be  denied,  flourished    greatly    w^herever 
they  could  influence.     Particularly  they  were  men 
of  great  devotion  and  eminent  abilities  in    prayer, 
uttering  as    God  enabled    them  from    the    abun- 
dance of  their  hearts  and  affections;  men  of  divine 
eloquence  in  pleading    at    the    throne   of   grace, 
raising  and  melting  the  affections  of  their  hearers, 
and  being  happily  instrumental  in  transfusing  into 
their  souls  the  same  spirit  and  heavenly  gift.     And 
this  was  the  ground  of  all    their    other    qualifica- 
tions, they  were  excellent  men,  because  excellent, 
instant,  and  fervent  in  prayer.       Such  were   tlie 
fathers  ^ndjirst  forjne7*s  of  the    Dissenting  ift- 


DISSENTERS.  167 


terest.     Let  my  soul  be  for  ever  with  the  souls 
^f  these  men.^^ 

The  Test  Jet  excludes  Dissenters  from  filling 
public  offices,  except  they  take  the  sacrament  at 
the  established  church,  which  some  think  cannot 
be  consistently  done  by  any  conscientious  Dis- 
senter. Hence  loud  complaints  have  been  raised 
respecting  this  exclusion,  since,  as  members  of 
the  civil  community,  tbey  are  entitled  to  all  the 
common  privileges  of  that  community.  The 
Test  Act  was  originally  levelled  against  the 
Roman  Catholics*  The  Dissenters  have  made 
several  unsuccessful  applications  for  its  repeal. 
The  question  was  warrAly  agitated  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  1787,  and  on  each  side  numerous 
publications  issued  from  the  press.  The  chief 
argument  urged  for  the  continuance  of  the  Test 
^ct  is  the  safety  of  the  estaUished  church.  The 
principal  arguments  alledged  for  its  repeal  are, 
that  it  is  a  prostitution  of  the  Lord^s  Supper^  and 
<hat  to  ivithold  civil  rights  on  account  of  religious 
IbjnnionSy  is  a  species  of  persecution. 
'■:  The  Dissenters,  as  a  body,  have  not  been  un- 
fruitful of  great  and  learned  men.  Among  theijr 
ornaments  are  to  be  ranked  Baxter,  Bates,  Howe, 
Owen,  Williams,  Neal,  Henry,  Stennet,  Evans, 
Gale,  Foster,  Leland,  Grosvenor,  Watts,  Lard- 
5ner,  Aberncthy,  Doddridge,  Grove,  Chandler, 
Gill,  Orton,   Farneaux,' Farmer,  To wgood,   Rob- 


168  KIRK  OF  SCOTLAND. 

insoiij  and  Price.  Though  (as  enemies  have 
suggested)  it  may  happen  that  among  Dissenters 
sufficient  encouragement  is  not  given  in  certain 
cases  to  men  of  talents  and  integrity,  yet  among 
their  more  liberal  denominations,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, that  a  dissenting  minister  may,  unawed  by 
a  conclave  of  cardinals — a  bench  of  bishops — or 
a  board  of  ministers — exercise  in  its  fullest  ex- 
tent the  right  of  private  judgment,  which  is  the 
pride  and  pleasure  of  the  human  mind.  In 
Pierce's  Vindication  of  the  Dissenters,  Tow- 
good's  Letters  to  White,  and  Palmer's  Protestant 
Dissenter^s  Catechism,  are  stated  the  grounds 
upon  which  their  dissent  from  the  establishedL 
church  is  founded,  ^1 


KIRK  OF  SCOTLAND. 

THE  members  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  are 
strictly  speaking,  the  only  Presbyterians  in 
Great  Britain.  Their  mode  of  ecclesiastical  gov^ 
ernment  was  brought  thither  from  Geneva  by 
John  Knox,  the  celebrated  Scotch  reformer 
who  has  been  stiled  the  apostle  of  Scotland,  for 
the  same  reason  that  Luther  was  called  the  apostle 
of  Germany. 

Contrary  to  the  Episcopalians,  the  Presbyteri- 
ans maintain  that  the  church  should  be  govern- 


KUlK  OF  SCOTLAND.  16^ 


ed  by  Presbyteries,  Synods,  and  general  Assenri- 
blies.  The  title  Presbyterian  comes  from  the 
Greek  word  Presbutcros^  which  signifies  senior 
or  elder.  In  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  there  are  fif- 
teen synods  and  sixty-nine  presb3^teries.  Their 
articles  are  Calvinistic,  and  their  general  assembly 
is  held  annually  in  the  month  of  May  at  Edin- 
burgh. Dreadful  scenes  took  place  in  Scotland 
previous  to  the  establishment  of  Presbyterianism 
in  its  present  form  at  the  revolution,  and  its  con- 
firmation in  1706,  by  the  act  of  union  between 
the  two  kingdoms.  During  the  commonwealth, 
Presbyterianism  was  the  establised  religion,  but 
on  the  restoration  Episcopacy  was  introduced  in 
its  room.  So  averse,  however,  were  the  Scotch 
to  the  Episcopalians,  and  so  harsh  were  the  mea- 
sures of  the  Episcopalian  party,  that  the  whole 
country  was  thrown  into  confusion.  Leighton, 
the  most  pious  and  moderate  prelate  amongst 
them,  disgusted  with  the  procedings  of  his  breth- 
ren, resigned  his  bishopric,  and  told  the  kinc^. 
'^  He  w^ould  not  have  a  hand  in  such  oppressive 
measures,  were  he  sure  to  plant  the  Christian  re- 
ligion in  an  infidel  country  by  them  ;  much  less 
when  they  tended  only  to  alter  the  form  of  church 
government."  On  the  other  hand.  Sharp,  Arch- 
bishop of  St.  Andrews,  adopted  violent  measures, 
which  terminated  in  his  death.  For  in  1679,  nine 
ruffians  stopped  his  coach  near  St.  Andrew^s, 
O 


170  SECEDERS. 


assassinated  him,  and  left  his  body  covered  with 
thirty-two  wounds.  On  the  monument  of  this 
unfortunate  prelate,  in  one  of  the  churches  of  St. 
Andrew's,  I  have  seen  an  exact  representation  in 
elegant  sculpture  of  this  tragical  €V€nt. 

It  was  in  these  troubled  times  that  the  Presby- 
terians drew  up  their  famous  solemn  league  and 
covenant,  whereby  they  bound  themselves  to  ef- 
fect the  extirpation  of  episcopacy.  The  Scotch 
church,  however,  is  now  considerably  improved 
in  sentiment  and  liberality,  and  some  of  their 
clergy  stand  foremost  in  the  several  departments 
of  literature,  Robertson,  Henry,  Leechman, 
Blacidock,  Gerard,  Campbell,  Blair,  and  Hun- 
ter, all  recently  deceased,  are  among  its  principal 
ornaments.  In  a  selection  of  sermons,  entitled 
the  Scotch  Preacher,  will  be  found  a  pleasing 
specimen  of  the  pulpit  compositions  of  the  Scotch 
clergy,  delivered  on  particular  occasions. 


SECEDERS. 


DISSENTERS  from  the  Kirk  or  Church  of 
;S.cotland,  call  themseivjes  Seceders  ;  for  as  the 
term  Dissenter  comes  from  the  Latin  word  dis- 
sentio,  to  jdiffer,  so  the  appellation  Seceder  is  de- 
rived from  another  Latin  word  secedo,  to  separate 
or  tD  withdraw  from  any  body  of  men  with  which 


SECEDERS.  171 


we  may  have  been  united.  The  Seceders  are  ri- 
gid Calvinists,  rather  austere  in  their  manners^ 
and  in  their  diisciphne.  Through  a  difference  as 
to  civil  matters  they  are  broken  down  into  Bur- 
ghers and  Jnti'burghers.  Of  these  two  classes 
the  latter  are  the  most  confined  in  their  senti- 
ments, and  associate  therefore  the  least  with  any 
other  body  of  Christians.  The  Seceders  origi- 
nated under  two  brothers,,  Ralph  and  Ebenezer 
Erskine,  about  the  3^ear  1730.  It  is  worth}^  of 
observation,  that  the  Rev.  George  Whitfield,  in 
one  of  his  visits  to  Scotland,  was  solemnly  re- 
probated by  the  Seceders^  because  he  refused  to 
confine  his  itinerant  labours  wholly  to  them.  The 
reason  assigned  for  this  monopolization  was,  that 
they  were  EXCLUSIVELY  God's  people  !  Mr. 
Whitfield  smartly  replied,  that  they  had  there- 
fore the  less  ?ieed  of  his  services,  for  hh  aim  was 
to  turn  sinners  from  the  error  and  wickedness  of 
their  ways  by  preaching  among  them^  glad  tidings 
of  great  joy  ! 

There  is  also  a  species  of  Dissenters  from  the 
church  of  Scotland  called  Relief y  whose  only  dif- 
ference from  the  Kirk  is,  the  choosing  of  their 
own  pastors.  They  are  respectable  as  to  num- 
bers and  ability. 

The  reformation  iri  Scotland,  like  that  in  Eng- 
land and  Germany,  struggled  with  a  long  series 
of  opposition,  and  was  at  length  gloriously  tri- 


172  SECEDERS. 


umphant.  Dr.  Gilbert  Stezvart,  thereforG_,  closes 
his  History  of  the  Reformation  in  North  Britain 
with  the  following  animated  reflections  : 

*^  From  the  order  and  the  laws  of  our  nature  it 
perpetually  happens  that  advantages  are  mixed 
with  misfortune.  The  conflicts  which  led  to  a 
purer  religion,  while  they  excite  under  one  aspect 
the  liveliest  transports  of  joy,  create  in  another  a 
mournful  sentiment  of  sympathy  and  compassion. 
Amidst  the  felicities  which  w^ere  obtained,  and 
the  trophies  which  were  won,  we  deplore  the  mel- 
ancholy ravages  of  the  passions,  and  w-eep  over 
the  ruins  of  ancient  magnificence.  But  while  the 
contentions  and  the  ferments  of  men,  even  in 
the  road  to  improvements  and  excellence,  are 
ever  destined  to  be  polluted  with  mischief  and 
blood  ;  a  tribute  of  the  highest  panegyric  and 
praise  is  yet  justly  to  be  paid  to  the  actors  in  the 
reformation.  They  gave  way  to  the  movements 
of  a  liberal  and  a  resolute  spirit.  They  taught 
the  rulers  of  nations  that  the  obedience  of  the 
subject  is  the  child  of  justice,  and  that  men  must 
be  governed  by  their  opinions  and  their  reason. 
This  magnanimity  is  illustrated  by  great  and  con- 
spicuous exploits,  which  at  the  same  time  that 
they  awaken  admiration,  are  an  example  to  sup- 
port  and  animate  virtue  in  the  hour  of  trial  and 
peril.  The  existence  of  civil  liberty  w^as  deeply 
venuected  \vith  the  doctrines  fer  which  they  con^ 


SECEDERS.  173 


tended  and  fought.  While  they  treated  with 
scorn  an  abject  and  cruel  superstition,  and  lifted 
and  subUmed  the  dignity  of  man,  by  calling  his 
attention  to  a  simpler  and  a  wiser  theology,  they 
were  strenuous  to  give  a  permanent  security  to 
the  political  constitution  of  their  state.  The 
happiest  and  the  best  interests  of  society  were  the 
objects  for  which  they  buckled  on  their  armour^ 
and  to  wish  and  to  act  for  their  duration  and  sta- 
bility, are  perhaps  the  most  important  employ- 
ments of  patriotism  and  public  affection.  The 
reformation  may  suffer  fluctuation  in  its  forms^ 
but,  for  the  good  and  the  prosperity  of  mankind^, 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  is  never  to  yielcj  and  to 
submit  to  the  errors  and  the  superstition  it  over- 
whelmed.'* 

Having  mentioned  that  the  church  of  Scotland 
is  composed  of  a  General  Assembly — Synods  and 
Presbyteries — to  these  must  be  added  the  Kirk 
Sessions-'^made  up  of  the  Pastor,  Pvuling  Elders, 
and  Deacons  ;  though  the  business  of  the  last  is 
to  attend  to  the  temporalities  of  the  church.  Nor 
ought  it  to  be  forgotten  that  both  classes  of  the 
Seceders  and  the  Relief  Body,  including  about 
three  hundred  ministers  are  strict  Presbyterians., 
notwithstanding  their  secession,  or  dissent  from 
the  Scotch  Establishment. 


02 


1  74  ENGLISH  PRESBYTERIANS. 

ENGLISH  PRESBYTERIJNS. 

BUT  the  appellation  Presbyterian  is  in  Eng- 
land appropriated  to  a  large  denomination  of  Dis- 
s^enters,  who  have  no  attachment  to  the  Scotch 
mode  of  church  government,  any  more  than  to 
Episcopacy  amongst  us,  and  therefore  to  this 
body  of  Christians  the  term  Presbyterian  in  its 
original  sense  is  improperly  applied.  How  this 
misapplication  came  to  pass  cannot  be  easily  de- 
termined, but  it  has  occasioned  miany  wrong  no- 
tions, and  should  therefore  be  rectified.  English 
Presbyterians,  as  they  are  called,  adopt  the  same 
mode  of  church  government  with  the  independ- 
ents, which  is  the  next  sect  to  be  mentioned. 
Their  chief  difference  from  the  Independents  is, 
that  they  are  less  attached  to  Calvinism,  and  con- 
sequently admit  a  greater  latitude  of  religious 
sentiment. 

Dr.  Doddridge  in  his  Lectures  has  this  para- 
graph on  the  subject,  which  may  serve  still  fur- 
ther for  its  illustration.  "  Those  who  hold  every 
vastor  to  be  as  a  bishop  or  overseer  of  his  own 
congregation,  so  that  no  other  person  or  body  of 
men  have  by  divine  institution  a  power  to  exercise 
any  superior  or  pastoral  office  in  it,  may,  properly 
speaking,  be  called  (so  far  at  least)  congrega- 
tional ;  and  it  is  by  a  vulgar  mistake  that  any 
such    are  called  PrcsbyierianS;,  for  the  Prcsby- 


INDEPENDENTS.  173 

terian  discipline  is  exercised  by  synods  and  as- 
semblies, subordinate  to  each  other,  and  all  of 
them  subject  to  the  authority  of  what  is  common- 
ly called  a  General  AssemUyJ^^  This  mode  of 
church  government  is  to  be  found  in  Scotland^ 
and  has  been  already  detailed  under  a  former  ar- 
ticle in  this  work. 


INDEPENDENTS. 

THE  Independents  or  CongregationalistSf 
deny  not  only  the  subordination  of  the  clergy,  but 
also  all  dependency  on  other  assemblies.  Every 
congregation  (say  they)  has  in  itself  what  is  ne- 
cessary for  its  own  government,  and  is  not  sub- 
ject to  other  churches  or  to  their  deputies.  Thus 
this  independency  of  one  church  with  respect  to 
another  has  given  rise  to  the  appellation  Inde- 
pendents ;  though  this  mode  of  church  govern- 
ment is  adopted  by  the  Dissenters  in  general. 
The  Independents  have  been  improperly  con- 
founded with  the  BrownistSy  for  though  they 
may  have  originally  sprung  from  them,  they  exr 
eel  them  in  the  moderation  of  their  sentiments, 
and  in  the  order  of  their  discipline.  The  first 
Independent  or  Congregational  Church  in  Eng- 
land was  established  by  a  Mr,  Jacob^  in  the  year 


i  76  BROWNISTS— .P^DOBAPTISTS- 

1616  ;  though  a  Mr.  Robinson  appears  to  have 
been  the  founder  of  this  sect. 


BROWNISTS. 

THE  Brownists,  which  have  been  just  men- 
tioned, were  the  followers  of  Robert  Brown,  2l 
clergyman  of  the  church  of  England,  who  lived 
about  1600.  He  inveighed  against  the  ceremo- 
nies and  discipline  of  the  church,  separated  him- 
self frcm  her  communion,  and  afterwards  return- 
ed into  her  bosom.  He  appears  to  have  been  a 
persecuted  man,  of  violent  passions.  He  died  in 
Northampton  goal,  1630,  after  boasting  that  he 
had  been  committed  to  thirty-two  prisons,  in  some 
of  which  he  could  not  see  his  hand  at  noon  day  ! 


PMBOBAPTISTS. 

BEFORE  we  proceed  to  the  Baptists,  it  will 
be  necessary  just  to  remark,  that  all  persons  who 
baptize  infants^  are  denominated  PcsdobaptistSy 
from  the  Greek  word,  PaiSy  which  signifies  child 
or  infant,  and  Bapto  to  baptize.  Of  course  the 
^Established  Church,  .  the  Presbyterians  both  in 
Scotland  and  England,  together  with  the  Indc. 
pendents,  are  all  Ptedobaptists  ;  that  is,  baptize; 
of  infants  or  chndren.       Their   reasons  for  tliis 


PiEDOBAPTISTS.  177 

practice  are  to  be  found  in  Wall,  Towgood,  Ad- 
dington^  Williams,  Horsey,  and  others,  who  have 
expressly  written  on  the  subject  with  learning  and 
ingenuity.  They  rest  their  arguments  principally 
on  the  following  circumstances  : — That  baptism 
has  succeeded  instead  of  the  rite  of  circumcision  ; 
that  households^  probably  (say  they)  including 
children,  were  baptized  ;  that  Jesus-  shew^ed  an 
affectionate  regard  for  children  ;  and  finall}'',  that 
it  is  the  means  of  impressing  the  minds  of  parents 
with  a  sense  of  the  duties  which  they  ow^e  their 
offspring,  upon  the  right  discharge  of  w^hich  de- 
pend the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  rising  gen- 
eration. Persons,  therefore,  engage  themselves 
as  sponsors  m  the  Established  Ciuirch,  who  pro- 
mise that  they  will  take  care  of  the  morals  of  the 
children ;  among  other  sects  the  parents  are  made 
answerable,  w^ho  indeed  are  the  most  proper  per- 
sons to  undertake  the  arduous  task,  and  to  see  it 
duly  accomplished.  Dr.  Priestly  has  just  publish- 
ed a  Letter  to  an  Antip<jedohaptisty  in  wdiich 
he  endeavours  to  prove  the  Baptism  of  Infants, 
from  the  testimony  of  the  Fathers,  which  the  Rev. 
Job  David,  of  Taunton,  has,  in  a  small  pamphlet, 
very  fully  answered.  These  preliminary  remarks 
were  necessary  to  render  a  sketch  of  the  Baptists 
the  more  intelligible.  We  shall  therefore  proceed 
to  that  denomination. 


178  BAPTISTS. 


BJPTISTS, 
GENERAL   AND   PARTICULAR. 

THE  Baptists  are  distinguished  from  other  de- 
nominations respecting  the  7node  and  subject  of 
baptism.  They  contend  that  this  ordinance 
should  be  administered  by  immersion  only,  which 
indeed  is  enjoined,  though  not  practised,  by  the 
church  of  England.  They  also  assert,  that  it 
should  be  administered  to  those  alone  who  pro- 
fess their  belief  in  the  Christian  religion,  and 
avow  their  determination  of  regulating  their  lives 
by  its  precepts.  Some  of  the  learned,  however, 
suppose  that  the  controversy  is  not  so  properly 
whether  infants  or  adults  should  be  baptised,  as 
whether  the  rite  should  be  administered  on  the 
profession  of  our  oxim  faith,  or  on  that  of  an- 
other's faith.  See  Letters  addressed  to  Bishop 
Hoadleyy  by  the  late  Mr.  Footy  a  General  Baptist 
at  Bristol. 

The  Baptists  are  divided  into  the  General^  who 
are  Arminians,  and  into  the  Particular^  who  are 
Calvinists,  Some  of  both  classes  allow  mixed 
communion^  by  which  is  understood,  that  those 
w^ho  have  not  been  baptized  by  immersion  on  tl 
profession  of  their  faith  (but  in  their  infancy, 
which  they  themselves  deem  valid)  may  sit  down' 
at  the  Lord's  table  along  with  those  who  have 


BAPTISTS.  1 79 


been  thus  baptized.  This  has  given  rise  to  some 
little  controversy  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Killing- 
v^^orth  and  Mr.  Abraham  Booth  have  written 
against  free  communion,  but  John  Bunyan,  Dr. 
James  Foster,  Mr.  Charles  Bulkeley,  Mr.  John 
Wiche,  for  many  years  a  respectable  General 
Baptist  minister,  at  Maidstone,  an<i  Mr.  Robin- 
son, of  Cambridge,  have  contended  for  it.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  such  disputes  should  ever  have 
arisen,  since  they  have  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  injure  the  repose,  and  retard  the  pros- 
perity of  the  Christian  Church.  An  excellent 
Address  to  the  Opposers  of  free  Communion^ 
written  by  the  late  venerable  Micajah  Towgood, 
will  be  found  at  the  end  of  his  Life,  by  Mr. 
James  Manning,  well  worth  attention. 

The  General  Baptists  have,  in  some  of  their 
churches,  three  distinct  orders  separately  ordained 
, — Messengers,  Elders,  and  Deacons  ;  and  their 
General  Assemhly  (when  a  minister  preaches,  and 
the  affairs  of  the  church  are  taken  into  con- 
sideration) is  held  annually  in  Worship-street, 
London,  on  the  Tuesday  in  the  Whitsun  IVeek  ; 
it  used  to  be  on  the  Wednesday,  but  is  changed 
for  the  convenience  of  ministers  who  attend  it 
from  the  country.  They  have  thus  met  together 
for  upwards  of  a  century.  Dr.  John  Gale,  a 
learned  General  Baptist,  had  a  famous  controversy 
in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century,  with  Dr.  Wall, 


180  ADULT    BAPTISaI. 

who  defended  the  practice  of  baptizhig  infants. 
But  there  has  been  a  more  recent  controversy  on 
the  subject,  between  Mr.  Abraham  Booth,  and 
Dr.  Williams.  The  appellation  Anabaptist,  which 
comes  from  two  Greek  words,  and  signifies  to  re- 
baptizey  is  sometimes  applied  to  this  denomina- 
tion of  Christians.  But  this  is  an  unjust  accusa- 
tion brought  against  them  by  their  adversaries, 
and  being  deemed  a  term  of  reproach,  ought  to 
be  wholly  laid  aside.  The  late  Mr.  Robinson 
published  a  very  valuable  work,  entitled  The  His- 
tory vf  Baptism, 


JDULT  BAPTISM. 

THE  administration  of  baptism  to  adults  by 
immersion,  has  been  the  subject  of  so  much  ridi- 
cule and  misrepresentation,  that  an  account  of  it, 
taken  from  Mr.  Robimon^s  History  of  Baptism, 
shall  be  inserted  for  the  information  of  the  serious 
reader.  ^^  The  English^  and  most  foreign  Ba^ 
tists,  consider  a  personal  profession  of  faith,  and 
an  immersion  in  water,  essential  to  baptism.  The 
profession  of  faith  is  generally  made  before  the 
church  at  a  church  meeting.  Some  have  a  creed, 
and  expect  the  candidate  to  assent  to  it,  and  ta 
give  a  circumstantial  account  of  his  conversion. 
Others  onl}^  require  a  person  to  profess  himself  a 


ADULT   BAPTISM,  ISi 

Christian.  The  former  generally  coiisider  bap- 
tism as  an  ordinance,  which  initia'  persons  into 
a  particular  church  ;  and  they  my^  without  breach 
of  Christian  liberty,  they  have  a  right  to  expect 
an  agreement  in  articles  of  faith  in  their  own  so- 
cieties. The  latter  only  think  baptism  initiates 
into  a  profession  of  the  Christian  religiou  in  gener- 
al, and  therefore  say  they  have  no  right  to  re- 
quire an  assent  to  our  creed  of  such  as  do  not 
.purpose  to  join  our  churches.  They  quote  the 
baptism  of  the  Eunuch,  in  the  8th  of  Acts,  in 
proof.  There  are  some  wdiohave  no  public  faith, 
and  who  both  administer  baptism  and  admit  to 
church  membership  any  who  profess  themselves 
Christians.  They  -administer  baptism  in  their 
own  baptisteries,  and  in  public  vvaters."^^ 

*^  Not  many  years  ago,  at  Whittlcsford,  seven 
miles  from  Cambridge,  forty-eight  persons  were 
baptized  in  that  ford  of  the'  river  from  which  the 
village  takes  its  name.  At  ten  o'clock  of  a  very 
fine  morning  in  May,  about  1500  people  of  dif- 
ferent ranks  assembled  together.  At  half  past  ten 
in  the  forenoon,  the  late  Dr.  Andrew  GifFord, 
Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  Sublibra- 
rian of  the  British  Museum,  and  teacher  of  8 
Baptist  congregation  in  Eagle-Street,  London, 
ascended  a  moveable  pulpit  in  a  large  open  court- 
yard, near  the  river,  and  adjoining  to  the  house 
of  the  Lord  of  the  manor.  Round  him  stood  the 
r 


182  ADULT  BAPTISM. 

congregation  ;  people  on  horseback,  in  coaches, 
and  in  carts,  formed  the  outside  semicircle  ;  nfiany 
other  persons  sisting  in  the  rooms  of  the  house, 
the  sashes  being  open,  all  were  uncovered,  and 
there  was  a  profound  silence.  The  doctor  first 
gave  out  a  hymn,  which  the  congregation  sung* 
Then  he  prayed.  Prayer  ended,  he  took  out  a 
Kew  Testament,  and  read  this  text — 7  indeed  bap- 
tize you  ivith  xvater  unto  repentance.  He  ob- 
served, that  the  force  of  the  preposition  had 
escaped  the  notice  of  the  translator^-,  and  that  the 
true  reading  was— I  indeed  baptize  or  dip  you  in 
water  at  or  ujjon  repentance  ;  which  sense  he 
confirmed  by  the  41st  verse  of  the  12th  of 
Matthew,  and  other  passages.  Then  he  spoke 
as  most  Baptists  do  on  these  occasions,  concern- 
ing the  nature^  subject^  mode  and  end  of  this 
ordinance.  He  closed,  by  contrasting  the  doc- 
trine of  infant  sprinkhng  with  that  of  believers 
baptism,  which  being  a  part  of  Christian  obedi- 
ence, was  supported  by  divine  promise,  on  the 
accomplishment  of  which,  all  good  men  might 
depend.  After  sermon,  he  read  another  hymn 
and  prayed,  and  then  cam.e  down.  Then  the 
XJandidates  for  baptism  retired,  to  prepare  them- 
selves, 

<^  About  half  an  hour  after,  tlie  administrator, 
^yhothat  day  was  a  nephew  of  the  doctor's  and 
/icUnirabiy  qualified  for  the  worl',  in  a  Icng  bla^!' 


ADULT   BAPTISM.  183 

gown  of  fine  baize,  without  a  hat,  with  a  small 
New  Testament  in  his  hand,  came  down  to  the 
river  side,  accompanied  by  several  Baptist  minis- 
ters and  deacons  of  their  churches,  and  the 
persons  to  be  baptized.  The  men  came  first,  two 
and  two,  without  hats,  and  dressred  as  usual,  ex- 
cept that  instead  of  coats,  each  had  on  a  long 
w^hite  baize  gown,  tied  round  the  waist  with  a 
sash.  Such  as  had  no  hair,  wore  w^hite  cotton 
or  linen  caps.  The  women  followed  the  men, 
two  and  two,  all  dressed  neat,  clean,  and  plain, 
and  their  gowns  white  linen  or  dimity.  It  was 
said,  the  garments  had  knobs  of  lead  at  bottom 
to  make  them  sink.  Each  had  a  long  light  silk 
dloak  hanging  loosely  over  her  shoulder,  a  broad 
ribbon  tied  over  her  gown  beneath  the  breast, 
and  a  hat  on  her  head.  They  all  ranged  them- 
selves around  the  administrator  at  the  w^ater  side. 
A  great  number  of  spectators  stood  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  on  both  sides  ;  some  had  climed  ^.nd 
sat  on  the  trees,  many  set  on  horseback  and  in 
carriages,  and  all  behaved  with  a  decent  serious- 
ness, which  did  honour  to  the  good  sense  and  the 
good  manners  of  the  assembly,  as  well  as  to  the 
free  constitution  of  this  country.  First,  the  ad- 
ministrator read  an  hymn,  which  the  people 
sung.  Then  he  read  that  portion  of  scripture 
which  is  read  in  the  Greek  church  on  the  same 
occasion,  the   history  of  the    baptism  of  the  Eu- 


IM  ADrLT  BAPTrSM. 

Jiuch,  beginning  at  the  23d  verse,  and  ending 
^.vith  the  39th.  About  ten  nimutes  he  stood 
expounding  the  verses,  and  then  taking  one  of 
the  men  by  the  hand,,  he  led  him  into  the  water, 
saying  as  be  went.  See  here  is  watery  what  doth 
hinder  ?  If  thou  bclievest  with  all  thine  heart, 
thou  mayest  he  baptized.  When  he  came  to  a 
sufficient  depth,  he  stopped,,  and  with  the  utmost 
composure  placing  himself  on  the  left  hand  of 
the  man,  his  face  being  towards  the  man's 
shoulder,  he  put  his  right  hand  between  his 
shoulders  behind_,  gatfiering  into  it  a  little  of  the 
gown  for  hold  ;  the  fingers  of  the  left  hand  he 
thursted  under  the  sash  before,  and  the  man  put- 
ing  his  two  thumbs  into  that  hand,  he  locked  all 
together,  by  closing  his  hand.  Then  he  deliber- 
ately said,  /  baptize  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
ther,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ; 
and  while  he  uttered  these  words  standing  wide, 
he  gently  Iean€d  him  backward,  and  dipped  him 
once.  As  soon  as  he  had  raised  him,,  a  person  in 
a  boat  fastened  there  for  the  purpose,  took  hold 
of  the  man^s  hand,  wiped  his  face  with  a  nap- 
kin, and  led  him  a  few  steps  to  another  attend- 
ant, who  then  gave  his  arm,,  walked  with  him  to 
the  house,  and  assisted  him  to  dress^  There 
were  many  such  in  waiting,  who  like  the  primi- 
tive susceptors,  assisted  during  the  whole  service* 
The  rest  of  the  men  foUow^ed  the  first,  and  were 


ADULT  BAPTISM.  ISS^i. 


baptized  in  like  manner.  After  them  the  women 
were  baptized.  A  female  friend  took  off  at  the 
water  side  the  hat  and  cloak.  A  deacon  of  the 
church  led  one  to  the  administrator,  and  another 
from  him  ;  and  a  woman  at  the  water  side  took 
each  as  she  came  out  of  the  river,  and  conducted 
her  to  the  apartment  in  the  house,  where  they 
dressed  themselves.  When  all  w^ere  baptized, 
the  administrator  coming  up  out  of  the  river,  and 
standing  at  the  side,,  gave  a  short  exhortation  on 
the  honour  and  the  pleasure  of  obedience  to  di- 
vine commands,  and  then  with  the  usual  bene- 
diction di:?mi^sed  the  assembly.  About  half  an 
hour  after,  the  men  newly  baptized,  havhig  dress- 
ed themselves,  went  from  their  room  into  a.  large 
hall  in  the  house,  where  they  were  presently  join- 
ed by  the  women,  who  came  from  their  apart- 
ments to  the  same  place.  Then  they  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  the  administrator,  who  was  dressing  in 
his  apartment,  to  inform  him  they  waited  for  him. 
He  presently  came,  and  first  prayed  for  a  few 
Tiiinutes,  and  then  closed  the  whole  by  a  short  dis- 
course on  the  blessings  of  civil  and  religious  liber- 
ty, the  sufficiency  of  scripture,  the  pleasures  of  a 
good  conscience,  the  importance  of  a  holy  life,  and 
the  prospect  of  a  blessed  immortality.  This  they 
call  a  -public  baptism." 


p2 


18^  D1SSEN"TING  ACADEMIES. 

A  more  private  baptism  takes  place  after  a  sim-- 
ilar  manner  m  baptisteries,  which  are  in  or  near 
the  places  of  worship  ;  thus  every  convenience  is 
afforded,  for  the  purpose.  This,  indeed  is  now  the 
most  common  way  of  administering  the  ordinance 
among  the  Baptists,,  either  with  the  attendance  of 
friends  or  in  the  presence  of  the  congregation. 
Such  is  baptism  by  immers ion,. and  thus  conduct- 
ed, it  must'  be  pronounced  significant  in  its  nature, 
and  impressive  in  its  tendency.  It  is,. however, 
to  be  wished,  that  the  rite  was  on  every  occasion 
administered  with  equal  solemnity. 

The  propriety  of  the  exclusive  appellation  of  the 
vcrm  Baptists  to  those  who  baptize  adults  by  im- 
mersion, has  been  questioned..  Hence  they  are 
by  many  stiled  Anti-pcedGbaptists,  merely  as  op- 
Dosing  the  validity  of  infant  baptism.  An  account 
of  the  manner  va  which  infant  baptism  is  admin= 
i-tered,  should  have  been  added,  where  it  not  so 
well  known  by  its  general  practice,  both  in  the 
established  Cimrcb  and  among;  Dis&enters., 

The  three  denominations  of  Protestant  Dis- 
^>enters  have  seminaries  of  their  own,  where 
voung  men  designed  for  the  Christian  ministry 
are  educated.     Aa^onor  the  Presbvterians  are  to  lev- 


©ISSENTING  ACADEMIES.  1ST 

reckoned  the  academies  at  Manchester,  and  Caer- 
marthen,  in  South.  Wales  ;  besides  six  exhibitions 
granted  by  Dr.  Daniel  Williams,,  to  English  Pres- 
byterian students  to  be  educated  at  GlasgoWo- 
Among  the  independents  are  to  be  mentioned  the 
academies  at  Wymondley  House  near  Hitchin, 
Homerton,  Wrexham,,  and:  Hoxton.  The  acade- 
my at  Wymondley  House  was  originally  under 
the  care  of  Dr.  Philip- Doddridge  at*Northampton 
— upon  his  decease  it  was  consigned  over  to  Dr. 
Ash  worth,  at  Daventry  ^  but  wa^  afterwards  re- 
moved to  Northampton,  where  the  Rev.  John^ 
Horsey  superintended  it  for  many  years  in  a  man- 
ner which  did  credit  to  his  talents  and  pietyo 
There  is  also  an  academy  of  Lady  Huntingdon's, 
formerly  at  Trevecka,  now  at  Cheshunt.  The 
Baptists  have  tw^o  exhibitions  for  students  to  be 
educated  at  one  of  the  universities  i»  Scotland, 
given  them  by  Dr.  Ward,  of  Gresham  College, 
the  author   of  The  System  of  OratGryJ^'    There 

*  As  the  author  of  tliis:  little  work  stands  indebted 'to.  the  Ex- 
iiibition  of  Dr.  Join  War  J,  he  wishes  to  pay  a  grateful  tribute- 
of  respect  to- his  niemory.  He  was  the  son  of  a  Dissenting- 
minister,  and  born  about  1679,  in  London.  He  kept  an  acad- 
emy for  many  years  in  Tenter-Alley,  Moorfields.  In  1720,  he' 
was  chosen  professor  for  Rh.etoric  in  Gresliam  Colleore,  v/here  his^ 
Sy stein  of  Oratory  was  delivered.  In  1723,  during  the  Presi- 
dency of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  he  was  elected  Fellow  oi"  the.  RoyaP 


188  DISSENTING  ACADFMIES. 

■  ■^'  ■  ■  '■  -  -^ 
is  likewise  an  academy  at  Bristol,  generally  known 
by  the  name  of  The  Bristol  Education  Society^ 
over  which  the  late  Dr.  Caleb  Evans  and  his  ven- 
erable father,  the  Rev.  Hugh  Evans,  A.  \L  presi- 
ded for  many  years  with  respectability.  A  simi- 
lar institution,  though  upon  a  smaller  scale,  has 
been  formed  among  the  General  BaptistSy  which 
•t  is  to  be  hoped  will  meet  with  due  encourage- 
ment. They  could  formerly  boast  of  a  Galey  a 
Foster,  a  Burroughs,  a  Foot,  a  Noble,  and  a 
Bulkeley.  A  learned  education  lay«  the  founda- 
tion for  a  respectable  Christian  ministry.  In  Dr. 
Kippis's  Life  of  Dr.  Doddridge,  prefixed  to  the 
i^eventh  edition  of  his  Family  Expositor,  will  be 
found  an  account  of  the  general  mode  of  educa- 
tion for  ministers  among  the  Dissenters. 

Mr.  Palmer,  in  his  Nonconfonnist-s  Memorial 
speaking  of  Dr.  Daniel  Williams,  says — "  He 
gave  the  bulk  of  his  estate  to  charitable  uses,^  a^ 
excellent  in  their  nature  as  they  were  various  in 
their  kinds,  and  as  much  calculated  for  the  glory 

Society:  and  m  1-.752,  cliCTsen  or?e  of  its  Vice-President?,  in^ 
which  oifice  he  continued  till  his  death,  which  happened  at  Gre- 
sham  College,  October  17,  1758,  in  tlie  eightieth  year  of  his 
a^e.  He  publislie^l  many  learned  works  ;  and  is  allowed  by  aTl 
who  knew  him,  to  have  been  a  character  in  wliich  were  united  a 
dilKisive  benevolence  and  a  rational  piety. 


DISSENTING   LIBRARY.  18^ 

of  God,  and  the  good  of  mankind,  as  any  that 
have  ever  been  known.  He  left  his  library  for 
public  use,  and  ordered  a  convenient  place  to  be 
purchased  or  erected,  in  which  the  books  might 
be  properly  disposed  of,  and  left  an  annuity  for  a 
librarian.  A  commodious  house  was  accordingly 
erected  in  Redcross-streety  Cripplegate,  where 
his  collection  of  books  is  not  only  properly  preser- 
ved, but  has  b^en  gradually  receiving  large  addi- 
tions. This  is  also  the  place  in  which  the  body 
of  the  dissenting  ministers  meet  to  transact  their 
business,  and  is  a  kind  of  repository  for  paintings 
of  Nonconformist  ministers,  for  MSS.  and  other 
matters  of  curiosity  and  utility."  The  building  it- 
self belongs  to  the  Presbyterians^  but  it  is  by  the 
trustees  handsomely  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  dis- 
senters in  general.  The  librar}',  since  its  original 
endowment,  has  been  augmented  by  the  donations 
of  liberal  minded  persons,  and  its  increase  depends. 
upon  their  zeal  ;  no  part  of  the  founder's  estate 
being  appropriated  for  the  purpose.  Were  every 
dissenting  author  to  send  thither  a  copy  of  his  pub- 
lications (a  measure  that  has  been  recommended 
and  ought  to  be  adopted)  the  collection  would  soon 
receive  a  considerable  augmentation,  and  of  course 
.increase  not  only  in  extent  but  also  in  respectabil- 
ity. A  second  edition  of  the  catalogue,,  in  one 
volume,  octavo,  has  been  lately  published,  witli 


190  SIGN   COLLEGE. 


with  the  rules  respecting  the  use  of  it,  prefixed. 
Near  to  this  spot  also  stands  Sion  College^ 
founded  by  Dr.  Thomas  Wliite,  and  of  which  a 
particular  account  is  given  in  Northouck'sii/^tort/ 
of  London.  Here  the  London  clergy  meet  to 
transact  their  affairs,  and  it  is  enriched  with  an 
extensive  library,  and  ample  endowments.  The 
building  having  been  lately  repaired,  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  great  respectability. 

TO  the  foregoing  systematical  distributions  of 
the  several  denominations,  shall  be  added  a  FEW 
SECTS,  which  cannot  be  classed  with  propriety 
under  any  of  the  three  general  divisions  which 
have  been  adonted. 


(SlUJKERS. 

THE  Quakers  appeared  in  England,  about  the. 
year  1650.  Their  origin  will  be  best  given  in 
their  own  words  : — ^*  The  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  is  known  to  have  been  a  time  of 
great  dissention  in  England  respecting  religion. 
Many  pious  persons  had  been  dissatisfied  with  the  ' 
settlement  of  the  Church' of  England  in  tlie  reign 


aUAKERS.  101 


of  Queen  Elizabeth.     Various  societies  of  Dissent- 
ers had  accordingly  arisen ;  some  of  whom  evinc- 
ed their   sincerity    by   grievous  sufferings  under 
the  intolerance  of  those  who  governed  church  af- 
fairs.*    But  these  societies,  notwithstanding  their 
honest  zeal,  seemed  to  have  stopped  short  in  their 
progress  towards  a  complete   reformation  ;f  and, 
degenerating  into  formality,  to  have  left  their  most 
enlightened   members  still  to  lament  the  want  of 
something  more  instructive  and  consolatory  to  the 
€0ul,  than    the  most  rigorous  observance  of  tl>eir 
ordinances  had  ever  produced.     Thus  dissatisfied 
and   disconsolate,  they  were  ready  to  follow  any 
teacher  who   seemed   able  to  direct  them  to  that 
light   and    peace   of  which    they    felt    the  need. 
Many  such  in  succession  engaged  their  attention ; 
imtil   finding  the   insufficiency    of  them  all,  they 
witlidrew    from   the    communion   of  every  visible 
church,  and  dwelt  retired,  and  attentive  to  the  in. 
ward  state  of  their  own  minds  :  often  deeply  di;<-' 
tressed   for    the    want  of  that  true  knowledge  of 
God,   which    they  saw  to  be  necessary  for  salva- 
tioii,   aTid    for    which,    according    to  their  ability, 
they  fervently   prayed.     These  sincere  breathings 
of  spirit  being  answered  by  the  extension  of  some 
degree  of  heavcnlV^  consolation,  they  became  con- 


*  SeweJL  n.  5,   6.  Ed.  1722.       t  Penn,  vol.  ?.  p.  211,  21« 

f'-d   1782. 


192  aUAKERS. 


vinced,  that  as  the  heart  of  man  is  the  scene  of 
the  tempter's  attacks,  it  nurst  be  also  that  of  the 
Redeemer's  victory.  With  renewed  fervency, 
therefore,  they  sought  his  appearance  in  their 
minds  ;  and  thus  being  renewedly  furnished  with 
.his  saving  light  and  help,  they  not  only  became 
instructed  in  the  things  pertaining  to  their  own 
salvation,  but  they  discovered  many  practices  in 
^.he.  world,  which  have  a  shew  of  rehgion,  to  be 
nevertheless  the  eifect  of  the  unsubjected  will  of 
man,  and  inconsistent  with  the  genuine  simplicity 
of  the  tTutlu 

George  Fox*  was  one  of  the  first  of  our  friends 
who  were  imprisoned.  He  was  confined  at  Not- 
tingham in  the  year  1649,  for  having  publicly 
opposed  a  preacher,  who  had  asserted  that  the 
more  sure  word  of  prophecy,  mentioned  2  Pet.  i, 
IP,  was  the  Scripture  ;  George  Fox  declaring 
that  it  was  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  and  in  the  following 
year,  being  brought  before  two  justices  in  Derby- 
slilre,  one  of  them,  scotling  at  G.  Fox,  for  having 
bidden  him,  and  those  about  him,  tremble  at  the 
word  of  the  Lord,  gave  to  our  predecessors  the 
name  of  Quakej^s  ;f  J  an  appellation  which  soon 


*  Besse's  Suffeiiugs  of  the  People  called  Quakers,  cli.   6,  and 
29.  et  passim. 

t  Be'iies.  Si.fr.  29.  t  Sewdl,  35. 


aUAKERS.  W^ 


became  and  hath  remained  our  most  usual  de- 
nomination ;  but  they  themselves  adopted,  an4 
have  transmitted  to  us  the  endearing  appellation 
of  Frieiids,^^'^ 

It  is  difficult  to  give  a  specific  statement  of 
their  tenets  ;  but  they  may  be  found  in  a  well- 
written  Apology  by  Robert  Barclay,  a  learned 
Quaker,  who  died  in  Scotland,  1690.  George 
Fox,  the  founder  of  this  sect,  was  born  1624, 
He  exhibited  few  articles  of  faith,  and  msisted 
mostly  on  morality,  mutual  charity,  and  the  love 
of  God,  The  religion  and  worship  be  recom- 
mended were  simple  and  without  ceremonies.  To 
w^ait  in  profound  silence  for  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit,  w^s  one  of  the  chief  points  he  inculcated, 
^'  The  tenor  of  his  doctrine,"  says  John  Gough, 
^^  when  he  found  himself  concerned  to  instruct 
others,  was  to  lArean  men  from  systems,  eeremo* 

*  See  A  Summary  af  the  History^  Doctrine j^  and  DitcipVme  of 
Friends^  nvrltten  at  the  Desire  of  tie  Meeting  for  Sufferings  m 
London.  This  pamphlet  is  just  published  at  the  end  of  a  curi- 
ous work,  entitled  A  Refutation  of  some  of  the  most  ALidcrn  Mis- 
representations of  the  Society  of  Friends,  commonly  called  Q^uaken^ 
^with  a  Life  of  James  Nayhr.  By  Joseph  Gurney  Be'van.  Dr. 
Toulmin,  in  his  nenu  edition  oi  Near s  History  of  the  Puritans,  tes 

taken  great  pains  to  give  the  public  just  ideas  of  the  Quakers  ; 
It  does  honour  to  his  impartiality.  See  also  Dr.  A.  Ree's  valu- 
■able  and  improved  edition  of  Chambers'  Encyclopedia^  on  tlie 

subj'^ct. 

I  ^ 


194  aUAKERS. 


mes,  and  the  outside  of  religion,  in  every  form, 
and  to  lead  them  to  an  acquaintance  with  them- 
selves, hy  a  solicitous  attention  to  what  passed  in 
their  own  minds  ;  to  direct  them  to  a  principle  of 
their  own  hearts,  which,  if  duly  attended  to,  would 
introduce  rectitude  of  mind,  simplicity  of  manners, 
a  life  and  conversation  adorned  with  every  Chris- 
tian virtue,* 

The  Quakers  have  places  of  worship,  w^here 
they  regularly  assemble  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  though  sometimes  without  vocal  prayer,  or 
any  religious  exhortation.  They  reject  the  cele- 
bration of  water  baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
as  outward  ordinances,  have  no  distinct  order  of 
ministers,  though  their  speakers  are  under  certain 
regulations — and  being  firm  opposers  of  the  Cal- 
vinistic  doctrines  of  Election  and  Reprobation  are 
advocates  of  the   Arminian  system  of   doctrine. 


*  '  Drawing  Iiis  doctrine  from  the  pure  source  of  religious 

*  truth  the  New  Testament,  and  the  conviction  of  his  own  mind 

*  absracted  from   the  comments  of  mien — He  asserted  the  free- 

*  dom  of  man  in  the  liberty  of  the  gospel,  against  the  tyranny  of 

*  custom,  and  against  the  combined  pov\'ers  of  severe  persecution, 

*  tlie  greatest  contempt   and  1teenes4:   ridicule.     Unshaken  and 

*  undisma)'ed  he  persevered  in  disseminating  principles  and  prae- 
/  tises  conducive  to  tlie   present  and  everlasting  well-being  of 

*  mankind  with  great  honesty,  simplicity,  and  success.'  faj 

(a)  Gougii's  History  of  the  Qiiakers,  Vol.  I.  p.  55. 


GLUAKERS.  196 


SO  far  at  least  as  respects  the  universal  love  of  God 
to  man,  in  order  to  his  salvation. 

Their  internal  government  is  much  admired  ; 
their  own  poor  are  supported  without  parochial 
aid,  and  their  industry  and  sobriety  are  deserving 
of  imitation.  They  also  reprobate  the  destructive 
practice  of  war,  the  infamous  trafic  of  slaves,  and 
profess  their  abhorrence  of  religious  persecution. 
Refusing  to  pay  tithes,  as  an  antic hr is tian  impo* 
sition,  they  suffer  the  loss  of  their  goods  and  of 
their  liberty,  rather  than  comply  with  the  demand, 
and  their  losses  are  emphatically  termed  by  them 
sufferings.  Many  have  endured  long  imprison- 
ment on  that  account.  As  the  Quakers  object  to 
all  oaths,  as  having  been  prohibited  by  Christ, 
when  he  said,  swear  not  at  all  :  thus  their  affir- 
mation is  permitted  in  all  civil,  but  not  in  criminal 
cases.  In  the  tyrannical  reign  of  the  Stuarts,  the 
Friends  suffered  in  common  with  the  Puritans, 
the  severest  persecution.  Even  the  famous  Will- 
iam Penn  was  tried  at  the  Old  Bailey  ;  and  his 
defence  on  the  trial,  an  account  of  which  is  to  be 
found  in  his  works,  is  honourable  to  his  legal 
knowledge,  fortitude,  and  integrity. 

With  regard  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
they  have  deemed  it  more  safe  not  to  determine 
how  or  when  we  shall  be  raised,  yet  they  have 


1§S  aUAKERS. 

a  firm  belief  in  a  resurreetion  of  the  dead,  and  in 
n  future  state  of  retribution. 

Sexvelly  m  his  History  of  the  Society,  expresses 
himself  decidedly  in  behalf  of  a  resurrection,  but 
without  determining  the  mode  in  which  infinite 
wisdom  may  preserve  a  consciousness  of  identity 
m  another  stage  of  our  existence  ;  and  Barclay, 
in  his  confession  and  catechism,  used  only  the 
words  of  scripture  on  the  subject,  without  express- 
ing the  manner  in  which  he  understood  them* 
The  same  remark  applies  to  Barclay's  account  of 
the  divinity  of  Christ  ;  but  it  seems,  that  William 
Penn  was  more  explicit  on  the  subject  ;  and  no 
writer  of  aeknow^led'ged  reputation  among  them, 
has  admitted  any  distinction  of  persons  in  the 
Deity,  In  Penn's  Sandy  Foundation  Shaken,  he 
speaks  with  freedom  against  many  doctrines 
which  are  held  in  general  estimation*  The  title 
of  the  book  speaks  for  itself,  and  shall  be  trans- 
cribed— "  The  Sandy  Foundation  Shaken,  or  those 
so  generally  believed  and  applauded  docrines,  of 
one  God  subsisting  in  three  distinct  and  separate 
persons  ;  the  impossibility  of  God's  pardoning  sin 
without  a  plenary  satisfaction  ;  the  qualification 
of  impure  persons  by  an  imputative  righteousness,, 
refuted  from  the  authority  of  scripture  testimonies- 
and  right  reason.**     See  a  learned  defence  of  thi^- 


aUAKERS.  197 


work  by  Richard  Clarridge,  published  in  his  post- 
humous works,  in  1726. 

It  appears  that  Mr.  Penn  having  in  this  work 
reprobated  the  leading  doctrines  of  Calvinism,  a 
violent  outcry  was  raised  against  him.  He  there- 
fore vindicated  himself  in  a  pamphlet,  called  In- 
nocency  with  an  Open  Face,  in  w^hich  he  says — 
*^  As  for  my  being  a  Socinian,  I  must  confess  I 
have  read  of  one  Socinus,  of  (what  they  call)  a 
noble  family  in  Sene,  Italy,  who  about  the  year 
1574,  being  a  young  man,  voluntarily  did  aban- 
don the  glories,  pleasures^  and  honours  of  the  Great 
Duke  of  Tuscany's  court  at  Florence  (that  noted 
place  for  all  wordly  delicacies)  and  became  a  per- 
petual exile  for  his  conscience,  whose  parts,  wis- 
dom, gravity,  and  just  behaviour,  made  him  the 
most  famous  with  the  Polonian  and  Transyiva- 
nian  churches  ;  but  I  was  never  baptized  into  his 
name,  and  therefore  deny  that  reproachful  epithet, 
and  if  in  any  thing  I  acknowledge  the  verity  of 
his  doctrine,  it  is  for  the  truth's  sake  of  which,  in 
many  things,  he  had  a  clearer  prospect  than  most 
of  his  contemporaries  ;  but  not  therefore  a  Socin- 
lan  ""any  more  than  a  son  of  the  English  church, 
whilst  esteemed  a  Quaker,  because  I  justify  many 
of  her  principles  since  the  Reformation  against  the 
Roman  church."  But  we  will  add  another  para^ 
■graph,  where  Mr.  Penn's  principles  are  epitom- 
a2 


IQS  QUAKERS. 


feed.  "  And  to  shut  up  my  apology  for  religious 
matters,  that  all  may  see  the  simplicity,  scripture 
doctrine,  and  phrase  of  my  faith,  in  the  most  im- 
portant matters  of  eternal  life,  I  shall  here  subjoin 
a  short  confession. 

"  I  sincerely  own  and  unfeignedly  believe  (by 
virtue  of  the  sound  knowledge  and  experience  re- 
ceived from  the  gift  of  that  holy  unction  and  di- 
vine grace  inspired  from  on  high)  in  one  holy, 
jiist,  merciful,  almighty,  and  eternal  God,  who  is 
t*ie  Father  of  all  things  ;  that  appeared  to  the 
holy  patriarchs  and  prophets  of  old,  at  sundry 
times  and  in  divers  manners — and  in  one  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  the  everlasting  Wisdom,  divine  Pow- 
er, true  Light,  only  Saviour,  and  Preserver  of  all ; 
the  same  one  holy,  just,  merciful,  almighty,  and 
eternal  God,  who  in  the  fulness  of  time  took  and 
was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  at  which  time  he  preach- 
ed (and  his  disciples  after  him)  the  everlasting  gos- 
pel of  repentance,  and  promise  of  remission  of 
sins,  and  eternal  life  to  all  that  heard  and  obeyed, 
who  said,  he  that  is  with  you  (in  the  flesh)  shall 
be  in  you  (by  the  spirit  ;)  and  though  he  left  them 
(as  to  the  flesh)  yet  not  comfortless,  for  he  would 
come  to  them  again  (in  the  spirit)  for  a  little  while 
and  they  should  not  see  him  (as  to  the  flesh  ;) 
again,  a  little  while,  and  they  should  see  him  (in 
the  spirit  :)  for  the  Lord  (Jesus  Christ)  is  that  spir- 


aUAKERS.  199 


it,  a  manifestation  whereof  is  given  to  every  one^ 
to  profit  with  all — in  which  Holy  Spirit,  I  believe 
as  the  same  almighty  and  eterjftal  God,  who,  as 
in  those  times,  he  ended  all  shadows,  and  became 
the  infallible  guide  to  them  that  walked  therein, 
by  which  they  were  adopted  heirs  and  co-heirs  of 
glory;  so  am  I  a  living  witness  that  the  same  holy, 
just,  merciful,  almighty,  and  eternal  God,  is  now, 
as  then  (after  this  tedious  night  of  idolatry,  super 
stition,  and  human  inventions^  that  hath  over- 
spread the  world)  gloriously  manifested^  to  discov- 
er and  save  from  all  iniquity,  and  to  conduct  unto 
the  holy  land  of  pure  and  endless  peace  ;  in  a 
word,  to  tabernacle  in  men*  And  I  also  firmly 
believe,  that  without  repenting  and  forsaking  of 
past  sins,  and  walking  in  obedience  to  the  heaven- 
ly voice,  which  would  guide  into  all  truth,  and 
establish  there,  remission  and  eternal  life,  can 
never  be  obtained  ;  but  unto  them  that  fear  his 
name  and  keep  his  commandments,  they  and 
they  only,  shall  have  a  right  to  the  tree  of  life, 
for  whose  name's  sake,  I  have  been  made  willing 
to  relinquish  and  forsake  all  the  vain  fashions,  en- 
ticing pleasures,  alluring  honours,  and  glittering 
glories  of  this  transitory  world,  and  readily  to  ac- 
cept the  portion  of  a  fool  from  this  deriding  gener- 
ation, and  become  a  man  of  sorrow,  and  a  per- 
petual repBoach  to  my  familiars  ;  yea,  and  with 
the  greatest  cheerfulness,  can  obsignate  and  con- 


200  aUAKERS. 


firm  (with  no  less  zeal,  than  the  loss  of  whatso- 
ever this  doating  world  accounts  dear)  this  faith- 
ful confession  ;  having  my  eye  fixed  upon  a  more 
enduring  substance  and  lasting  inheritance,  and 
being  most  infallibly  assured,  that  when  time  shall 
be  no  more,  I  shall  (if  faithful  hereunto)  possess 
the  mansions  of  eternal  life,  and  be  received  into 
his  everlasting  habitation  of  rest  and  glory.'^ 

This  is  an  explicit  declaration  of  the  principles 
of  Cluakerism  ; — taken  from  the  works  of  IVill- 
iam  Penn  :  because  of  all  their  writers,  he  is  in 
general  the  most  perspicuous,  and  as  to  his  char- 
acter, he  possesses  a  high  respectability. 

Indeed,  there  seems  to  be  a  much  greater  uni- 
formity in  their  dress  than  in  their  opinions,  though 
it  is  probable  that  the  generality  of  them  adhere 
to  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  As 
a  proof  of  the  diversity  of  opinion  amongst  them, 
we  may  refer  to  the  late  proceedings  of  the  soci- 
ety against  Hannah  Barnardy  a  celebrated 
speaker  from  Hudson,  New  York,  in  North 
America.  For  her  opinion  concerning  the  Jewish 
Wars,  Trinity,  Miraculous  Conception,  &c.  she 
has  been  silenced.  See  2.r\  Appeal  to  the  Friends 
m  three  parts,  on  which,  however,  some  animad- 
versions have  been  published  by  Vindex  and 
others,  but  to  which  Vcrax  has  replied  in  a 
pamphlet  entitled — A  Findication  qf  Scriptural 


ft^AKERS*  mi 


Umtarianisniy  and  some  other  Primitive  Doc- 
trines, ^-c- — see  ali^o  some  Tracts  relating  to  the 
controversy  between  Hannah  Barnard  and  the 
Society  of  Friends.* 

There  are  seven  yearly  meetings  among  them^ 
fe^^each  of  which  ah^  rules  and  advices  are  formed 
for  the  general  government  of  the  society  in  the 
country,  where  they  are  respectively  established. 
And  no  Member  of  the  Society  is  precluded  from 
attending,  or  partaking  in  the  deliberations  of 
these  assemblies,  which  are  nevertheless  strictly 
speaking  constituted  of  representatives,  by  regular 
appointment  from  each  quarterly  meeting.  The 
following  are  the  seven  yearly  meetings  :  !•  Lon- 
don,  to  which  come  representatives  from  Ire- 
land ;  2.  New  England  ;  3.  New  York  ;  4' 
Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  ;  5.  Maryland  ; 
6.  Virginia  ;  7*  The  Carolinas  and  Georgia. 
The  form  and  colour  of  their  clothes,  together 
with  their  peculiar  modes  of  salutron,  have  been 
thought  to  savour  of  affectation,  though  they 
certainly  exhibit  a  striking  contrast  to   the   gaudy 

*  The  Author  has  omitted  a  Note  expressive  of  hia  concern 
for  the  proceedings  of  the  Society,  against  Hannnh  Barnard--- 
because  it  subjected  him  to  the  imputation  of  partiality. 
But  he  thinks  it  incumbent  on  him  to  declare  that  he  still 
continues  as  rauch  as  ever  the  enemy  of  intolerance^  under 
whatever  form  it  may  please  to  impose  itself  on  the  religious 
world. 


202  aUAKERS. 


frippery  and  artificial  courtesy  of  modern  times* 
Voltaire  in  his  letters  on  the  English  Nation, 
has  some  curious  remark?  on  the  Quakers  ;  but 
in  certain  particulars  they  deem  themselves  ca. 
luniniated  by  that  satirical  writer.  At  Ackvvorth 
they  have  a  respectable  school,  to  which  (a  great 
and  good  man;  Dr.  Fothergill  left  legacies,  and 
where  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  boys  and 
one  hundred  and  twenty  girls  are  educated.  To- 
wards the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  William 
Penn,  who  founded  Pennsylvania,  introduced  and 
established  a  large  and  flourishing  colony  of  them 
in  America.  His  treaty  with  the  Indians  on  that 
occasion,  has  formed  an  admirable  subject  for  the 
pencil,  and  reflects  immortal  honour  on  his  me- 
mory. 

In  addition  to  the  Treatises  mentioned,  written 
by  the  Friends — the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Re- 
corder, by  William  Matthews  of  Bath,  and  to  a 
Painphlet  lately  published  by  John  Hancock,  of 
Lilburne,  Ireland. 

I  have  thus  endeavoured  to  state  at  some  length 
the  doctrines  and  views  of  Q^uakerisiUy  because 
its  advocates  have  been  subjected  to  gross  mis- 
representations. Many  have  said  they  are  a 
species  of  Deists y  exalting  their  natural  light 
above  the  scripture,  which  some  of  them  have 
called  a  dead  letter — others  have  deemed  them  a 
kind  of  Enthusiasts,  violently  enslaved    by   their 


METHODISTS.  203 


impulses  and  feelings — whilst  a  third  class  have 
considered  them,  notwithstanding  their  profes. 
sions  res4)ecting  the  spirit,  as,  tit^orldly-mindedy 
eagerly  intent  on  the  acquisition  of  property,  and 
thus  commanding  the  good  things  of  this  present 
world.  Persons,  who  entertain  any  of  these 
opinions  concerning  them,  will  perceive  from  the 
above  account,  that  though  their  sentiments  are 
very  peculiar,  as  are  also  their  manners,  yet  we 
have  every  reason  to  suppose  them  sincere  in 
their  professions,  and  upon  the  whole,  steadily 
governed  by  the  prospects  of  another  world.  Al- 
lowances ought  to  be  made  for  human  infirmit}'. 
Nor  must  we  expect,  from  man  more  than  it  is 
In  his  power  to  perform.  Every  individual  of 
every  sect,  has  an  indubitable  right  to  form  his 
own  opinions  on  religious  subjects.  And  let 
him  freely  indulge  those  opinions  which  (however 
absurd  in  the  eyes  of  others)  may  to  him  appear 
consonant  to  truth-— whilst  h^  .holds  sacred  the 
peace  and  happiness  of  so.ciety. 


METHODISTS, 
BOTH   CALVINISTIC  AND  ARMINIAN. 

THE  Methodists  in  this  country  form  a  large 
part  of  the  community.  In  the  year  172D,  they 
sprang  up  at  Oxford,  under  Mr.  Morgan  (who 
;Boon  after  died)  and  under  Mr.  John  Wesley.     In 


^$.4  METHODISTS. 


the  month  of  November,  of  that  year,  the  latter 
feeing  then  fellow  of  Lmcoln  College,  began  to 
spend  some  evenings  in  reading  the  Greek  New 
Testament  along  with  Charles  Wesley,  student, 
Mr.  Morgan,  commoner  of  Christ  Church,  and 
Mr.  Kirkman,  of  Morton  College.  Next  year^ 
two  or  three  of  the  pupils  of  Mr.  John  Wesley, 
and  one  pupil  of  Mr,  Charles  Wesley,  obtained 
leave  to  aitend  these  meetings.  Two  years  after, 
they  were  joined  by  Mr.  Ingham  of  ftueen's  Col- 
lege, Mr.  Broughton,  of  Exeter,  and  Mr.  James 
Hervey  ;  and  in  1735,  they  were  joined  by  the 
4jelebrated  Mr.  Whitfield,  then  in  his  eighteenth 
year.  They  soon  obtained  the  name  oiMethodistSj 
from  the  <^xact  regularity  of  their  lives  ;  whieh 
gave  occasion  to  a  young  gentleman  of  Christ 
Church,  tosay-^^  Here  is  a  nevjsect  of  Methodists 
sprung  up  !"  alluding  to  a  sect  of  ancient  Physi- 
cians,, who  practised  medicine  by  method  or  regular 
rules,  in  opposition  to  quackery  or  empiricism. 
Thus  was  the  term  Methodist  originally  applied 
to  this  body  of  Christians,  on  account  of  the 
methodical  strictness  of  their  lives  ;  but  is  indeed 
'now,  by  some,  indiscriminately  appropriated  to 
every  individual  who  manifests  a  more  than  ordi- 
nary concern  for  the  salvation  of  mankind. 

These  heads  differing  soon  afterwards  in  reli- 
gious sentiment,  their  respective  followers  distri- 
buted themselves  into  twx)  jparties  ;  the  one  under 


METHODISTS,  205 


Mr.  George  Whitfield,  the  other  under  Mr.  John 
and  Charles  Wesley,  Educated  at  Oxford,  these 
leaders  still  continued  to  profess  an  attachment  to 
the  articles  and  liturgy  of  the  Established  church, 
though  they  nK)re  commonly  adopted  the  mode 
of  worship  which  preveils  among  the  Dissenters, 
Upon  their  being  excluded  from  the  pulpits  in 
many  churches,  they  took  to  preaching  in  the 
fields  ;  and  from  the  novelty  of  the  thing,  in  con- 
junction with  the  fervour  of  their  exertions,  they 
were  attended  by  some  thousands  of  people  !  In 
their  public  labours,  Mr.  Whitfield  having  a  most 
sonorous  voice,  was  remarkable  for  an  engaging 
and  powerful  eloquence ;  whilst  Mr.  John  Wes- 
ley, being  less  under  the  influence  of  his  passions, 
possessed  both  in  writing  and  preaching,  a  per- 
spicuous  and  commanding  simplicity.  Even  their 
enemies,  confess  that  they  contributed  in  several 
places  to  reform  the  lower  classes  of  the  commu- 
nit}'.  The  Colliers  at  Kingswood,  near  Bristol, 
and  the  Tinners  in  Cornwall,  were  greatly  bene- 
fitted by  their  exertions.  In  consequence  of  their 
attention  to  the  religion  of  Jesus,  by  the  instni- 
mentality  of  these  preachers,  many  of  them  roa^ 
to  a  degree  of  respectability,  and  became  valuable 
members  of  society.  The  followers  of  Mr, 
Wesley  are  Arrainians,  though  some  of  liis 
preachers  incline  to  Baxterianism.  The  fol- 
lowci's  of  Mr.  Whitfield  are  CalvinistSy  and  were 


206  METHODISTS. 


patronized  by  the  late  Countess  Dowager  of 
Huntingdon,  to  whom  Mr.  W.  was  chaplain, 
and  who  was  a  lady  of  great  benevolence  and 
piet}'.  Lady  Erskine  (a  near  relation  of  the  cele- 
brated counsellor  of  that  name)  has  taken  her 
situation,  and  is  said  to  be  equally  attentive  to 
the  concerns  of  this  part  of  the  religious  commi>- 
nity.  With  respect  to  the  splitting  of  the  Me- 
thodists into  Calvinists  and  Arminians,  it  happen- 
i'd  so  far  back  as  the  year  1741;  the  former  being 
for  particular,  and  the  latter  for  universal  re- 
demption. Of  the  number  of  the  Methodists, 
various  statements  have  been  given — but  no  ac- 
count has  ever  yv.t  reached  me  vv^hich  bore  thr 
marks  of  accurac}^ 

Both  Mr.  Wesley  and  Mr.  Whitfield  were  in- 
defatigable in  promoting  their  own  views  of  th^: 
Christian  religion,  notwithstanding  all  the  re- 
proaches with  which  they  w^ere  stigmatized.  It 
is  well  known  that  for  this  purpose  Mr.  Whitfield 
went  over  several  times  to  Amci ica.  Mr.  Whit- 
field, indeed,  established  an  Orphan  House  in 
Georgia^  for  which  he  made  collections  in  this 
country,  and  which  was  since  converted  into  a 
college  for  the  education  of  young  men,  designee* 
chiefly  for  the  ministry.  To  this  paragraph,  thv 
American  editor  of  the  Sketch  luis  added — "  It 
has  been  lately  burnt,  and  the  whole  of  the  bene- 
ncc  added  to  it,  is  in  possesslo:?  of  the  State.     A 


METHODISTS.  207 


just  judgment  for  purchasing  slaves  to  support    a 
charitable  institution  !" 

In  America,  the  Methodists  were  extremely 
useful,  riding  20  or  30  miles  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  and  preaching  twice  or  thrice  to  considerable 
congregations.  Take  the  following  account  of 
their  labours  by  Mr.  Hampson,  in  his  Memoirs 
of  Mr.  Wesley.  ^^  Their  excursions  (says  he) 
through  immense  forests,  abounding  in  trees  of 
all  sorts  and  sizes,  were  often  highly  romantic 
Innumerable  rivers  and  fails  of  water  ;  vistas 
opening  to  the  view,  in  contrast  with  the  un- 
cultivated wilds  ;  deer  now  shooting  across  the 
road,  and  now  scouring  through  the  woods,  while 
the  eye  was  frequently  relieved  by  the  appearance 
of  orchards  and  plantations,  and  the  houses  of 
gentlemen  and  farmers  peeping  through  the  trees, 
formed  a  scenery  so  various  and  picturesque,  as 
to  produce  a  variety  of  reflections y  and  present, 
we  will  not  say  to  a  philosophic  eye,  but  to  the 
mind  of  every  reasonable  creature ^  the  most 
sublime  and  agreeable  im^ages.  Their  worship 
partook  of  the  general  simplicity.  It  was  fre- 
quently conducted  in  the  open  air.  The  woods 
resound  to  the  voice  of  the  preacher,  or  to  the 
singing  of  the  numerous  congregation,  whilst  the 
horses  fastened  to  the  trees,  formed  a  singular 
addition  to  the  solemnity.       It   was,  indeed,  a 


208  METHODISTS. 


Striking  picture,  and  might  naturally  impress  the 
mind  with  a  retrospect  of  the  antediluvian  days, 
when  the  hills  and  vallies  re-echoed  the  patriarchal 
devotions,  and  a  Seth,  or  an  Enoch,  in  the 
shadow  of  a  projecting  rock,  or  beneath  the  foliage 
of  some  venerable  oak,  delivered  his  primeval 
Lectures,  and  was  a  preacher  of  righteousness  to 
the  people  /" 

The  distingushing  principles  of  Methodism 
are  salvation  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  ;  per- 
ceptibicy  and  in  some  cases  instantaneous  con- 
version ;  and  an  assurance  of  reconciliation  to 
God,  with  W'hich,  they  say,  the  nexi^  birth^  or 
being  born  againy  is  inseparably  attended.  On 
these  doctrines  they  lay  the  utmost  stress  ;  and 
information  respecting  these  topics  will  be  found 
in  Dr.  Haw^eis's  History  of  the  Church  of  Christ , 
recently  published.*  Several  persons  have  writ- 
ten the  Life  of  Mr.  Wesley  ;  there  is  one  by  Mr. 
Hampson,  another  by  Dr.  Whitehead,  and  a 
third  by  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Moore.  Mr.  Whit- 
field's Life  was  drawn  up  by  the  late  Dr.  Gillies, 
ofGlasgow\  Mr.  Wesley  and  Mr.  Whitfield 
both  published  an  account  of  their  itinerant  la- 
bours in  this  kingdom  and  in    America.      These 

*  This  work,  it  is  to  be  regretted,  is  deficient  in  references  to 
4«U-i0ritics^  the  f#W  an4  tuhttana  of  history. 


METHODISTS.  209 


Sketches  are  entitled  Journals,  and  though  con- 
taining many  strange  things,  serve  to  illustrate 
the  principles  and  progress  of  Methodism.  To 
conclude  this  article  of  the  Methodists^  in  the 
words  of  Mr.  Hampson,  in  his  Memoirs  of  Mr. 
Wesley — <*  If  they  possess  not  much  knowledge, 
which  however  we  do  not  know  to  be  the  case, 
it  is  at  least  certain  they  are  not  deficient  in  zeal, 
and  without  any  passionate  desire  to  imitate  their 
example,  we  may  at  least  commend  their  endeav- 
ours for  the  general  good.  Every  good  man 
will  contemplate  wnth  pleasure,  the  operation  of 
the  spirit  of  reformation,  whether  foreign  or  do- 
mestic, and  will  rejoice  in  every  attempt  to  pro- 
pagate Christianity  in  the  barbarous  parts  of  the 
world  ;  an  attempt,  which  if  in  any  tolerable  de- 
gree successful,  will  do  infinitely  more  for  their 
civilization  and  happiness,  than  all  the  united  en- 
ergies  of  the  philosophical  infidels  ;  those  bo^asted 
benefactors  of  mankind." 

Dr.  Priestly  published  a  curious  volume  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  Letters,  just  after  his  decease,  pre- 
faced with  an  Address  to  the  Methodists  ;  where, 
after  having  freely  expostulated  with  them  re- 
specting their  peculiarities,  he  gives  them  credit 
for  their  zeal  and  unwearied  activity.  The 
Methodists  have  recently  found  an  eloquent  ad- 
vocate in  William  Wilberforce,  Esq.  M.  P.  who 
R2 


2^10  METHODISTS. 


lileads  their  cause  at  sorrje  length,  hi  h\6  Treatise 
on  f^ital  Christianity* 

Before  this  article  relative  to  the  Methodists  is 
closed,  it  may  be  proper  just  to  add  that  a  com- 
munication has  been  made  me,  respecting  the 
Revival  Meetings  among  the  Wesleyan  Metho- 
dists, where  certain  persons,  under  the  influence 
of  a  religious  frenzy,  occasioned  by  their  groan- 
ings  and  vociferations,  an  uncommon  degree  of 
tumult  and  confusion.  The  more  sensible,  how- 
ever, of  the  Methodists  reprobate  these  disgrace- 
ful scenes.  At  Nottingham  I  witnessed  them 
with  astonishment.  It  is  fervently  to  be  wished 
that  such  fanaticism  may  not  continue  long,  and 
that  some  persons  of  respectability  among  them 
will  interfere,  so  as  to  put  an  end  to  practices, 
which  cannot  fail  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  in- 
fidelity, and  afford  matter  of  grief  to  all  the 
friends  of  real  and  substantial  piety. 
, . — __/ 

*  This  work  has  been  ably  animadverted  upon  by  the  Rev. 
T.  Belsham,  in  a  Seria  of  Letters  to  the  author,  in  which  most 
or  its  positions  are  controverted.  And  with  respect  to  the  ar- 
ticle of  Hereditary  Depra^vity^  ior  wliich  Mr.  W.  zealously  con- 
tends, see  an  ingenious  Apology  fu  Human  Nature^  by  xlit  venern- 
bb  ar.d  learned  Charles  Bullvely. 


NEW  METHODISTS.  21 1 

NEW  METHODISTS. 

*  THE  New  Methodist  Connection, 
among  the  followers  of  Mr.  Wesley,  separated 
from  the  original  Methodists  in  1797.  The 
grounds  of  this  separation  they  declare  to  be 
church  government y  and  not  doctrines,  as  affirm- 
ed by  8ome  of  their  opponents.  They  object  to 
the  old  MethodistSp  for  having  formed  a  hierachy 
or  priestly  corporation  ;  and  say  that  in  so  doing 
they  have  robbed  the  people  of  those  privileges, 
which  as  members  of  a  Christian  church  they  are 
entitled  to  by  reason  and  scripture.  The  neiv 
Methodists  have  therefore  attempted  to  establish 
every  part  of  their  church  government  on  popu- 
lar principles,  and  profess  to  have  united  as  much 
as  possible  the  ministers  and  the  people  in  every 
department  of  it.  This  is  quite  contrary  to  the 
original  government  of  the  Methodists,  which  in 
the  most  important  cases  is  confined  only  to  the 
ministers.  This,  indeed,  appears  most  plainly, 
when  their  conference  or  yearly  meeting  is  con- 
sidered ;  for  in  this  meeting,  no  person,  who  is 
not  a  travelling  preacher^  has  ever  been  sufiered 
to  enter  as  a  member  of  it,  and,  indeed,  this  is  the 

*  Tliis  article  was  sent  to  tlie  editor  by  a  correspondent  at 
Nottingham,  and  is  inserted  with  a  few  alterations  and 
omissions. 


112  NEW  METHODISTS. 

point  to  which  the  preachers  have  always  sted- 
fastly  adhered  with  the  utmost  firmness  and  reso- 
lution, and  on  which  the  division  at  present  entire- 
ly rests.  They  are  also  upbraided  by  the  New 
Methodists,  for  having  abused  the  power  they  have 
assumed  ;  a  great  many  of  these  abuses,  the  New 
Methodists  have  formerly  protested  against,  which 
are  enumerated  in  various  publications,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  Preface  to  the  Life  of  one  of 
their  deceased  friends,  Mr.  Alexander  Kilham. 
Hence  these  New  Methodists  have  sometimes 
been  denominated  Kilhamites. 

Though  these  are  the  points  on  which  the  di- 
vision seems  principally  to  have  rested,  yet  there 
are  several  other  things  that  have  contributed  to 
it.  It  is  frequently  easy  to  foresee  and  to  calcu- 
late the  future  changes  in  society,  that  the  lapse 
of  time  will  produce  ;  and  in  no  instance  is  this 
observation  better  warranted  than  in  this  division, 
which  most  persons  have  long  expected.  The 
old  attachment  of  the  Methodists  to  the  Estab- 
lished Church,  which  originated  in  Mr.  Wesley, 
and  was  cherished  bj-  him  and  many  of  the 
preachers  by  all  possible  means,  and  also  the  dis- 
like to  these  sentiments  in  man}'  others  of  the 
preachers,  and  of  the  societies,  were  never  failing 
subjects  of  contention.  As  all  parties  are  dis- 
tinguished in  their  contests  by  some  badge  or 
discriminating  circumstance,  so  here  the  recciv 


NEW  METHODISTS.  213 

ing  or  not  receiving  the  lord's  Supper^  in  the 
Established  Churchy  was  long  considered  as  the 
criterion  of  methodistical  zeal  or  disaffection. 
Thus  the  rupture  that  had  been  long  foreseen  by 
intelligent  persons,  and  for  which  the  minds  of 
the  Methodists  has  been  undesignedly  prepared, 
became  inevitable  when  Mr.  Wesley's  influence 
no  longer  interfered.  Soon  after  Mr.  Wesley^s 
death,  many  things  had  a  tendency  to  displease 
the  societies,  and  bring  forward  the  division. 
Many  petitions  having  been  sent  by  the  societies 
to  the  preachers,  requesting  to  have  the  Lord's 
Supper  administered  to  them  in  their  own  chap- 
els, the  people  had  the  mortification  to  find  that 
this  question  was  decided  by  Zof,  and  not  by  the 
use  of  reason  and  serious  discussion  ! 

The  Nezi'  Methodists  profess  to  proceed  upon 
liberal,  open,  and  ingenuous  principles,  in  the 
construction  of  their  plan  of  church  government^ 
and  their  ultimate  decision  in  all  disputed  matters, 
is  in  their  popular  annual  assembly,  chosen  by 
certain  rules  from  among  the  preachers  and 
societies.  These  professions  are  at  least  general 
and  liberal  ;  but  as  this,  sect  has  yet  continued 
for  only  a  short  season,  little  can  be  said  of  it 
at  present.  It  becomes  a  matter  of  curious  conjec- 
ture and  speculation,  how  far  the  leading  persons 
among  them,  will  act  agreeably  to  their  present 
liberal     professions.       U    they    should     becoTne 


214  JUMPERS. 


firmly  ^nablished  fn'  poUer  and  mtluence,  and 
have  •;  Jbpportiinity  of  acting  otherwise  ;  they 
have  at  least  the  advantages  of  the  example  of 
their  late  brethren^  and  of  Dr.  Priestley's  remarks 
Upon  them.  Speaking  of  the  leading  men 
among  the  Methodists,  the  Doctor  says — ^^  Find- 
ing themselves  by  degrees  at  the  head  of  a  large 
body  of  people,  and  in  considerable  power  and 
influence,  they  must  not  have  been  inen^  if  they 
had  not  felt  the  love  of  power  gratified  in  such 
a  situation  ;  and  they  must  have  been  more  than 
men,  if  their  subsequent  conduct  had  not  been 
influenced  hy  it."  A  shrewd  hint,  that  Dr.  P. 
thought  the  Methodists  had  been  too  remiss  in 
their  attention  to  their  liberties,  xvhick  they  ought 
to  convey  doxvn  entire  and  unmutilated  to  pes- 
ferity. 


JUMPERS. 

ORIGINALLY  this  singular  practice  of  jump- 
ing during  the  time  allotted  for  religious  worship 
and  instruction,  was  confined  to  the  people  called 
Methodists  in  Wales,  the  followers  of  Harris, 
Rowland,  Williams,  and  others.  The  practice 
began  in  the  western  part  of  the  country  about 
the  year    1760.      It   was   soon   after    defended' 


JUMPERS-  213 


by  Mr.  William  Williams  (the  Welch  poet,  as  he 

is  sometimes  styled)  in  a    pamphlet,    which  was 

patronized  by  the  abbettors  of  jumping  in  religious 

assemblies^   but    viewed  by  the  .smttSrcr  and  the^,c^/^4^ 

grave   with  disapprobation.       However,    in    the 

course  of  a  few  years,  the  advocates  of  groaning 

and  loud  talking,  as  well  as  of  loud  singing,  re-- 

peating  the  same  line  or  stanza  over  and  over  thirty 

or  forty  times,  became  more  numerous,  and  were 

found  among  some  of  the  other  denominations  in 

the  principality,   and   continue  to   this  day,     Se* 

veral  of  the  more    zealous  itinerant  preachers  in 

Wales  recommended  the  people  to   cry   out    Go- 

goniant  (the  \^\^lch  word  for  glory)  Amen,   &c. 

&c.  to  put  themselves  in    violent  agitations ;  and 

finally,  \ojump  until  they  were  quite  exhausted, 

so  as  often  to  be  obliged  to  fall  dow^n  on  the  floor, 

or  on  the  field   where  this  kind   of  w^orship  w^as 

held.     If  any  thing  in  the  profession  of  religion, 

that  is  absurd  and  unreasonable,  w^ere  to  surprize 

us,  it  would  be  the  censure  that    was   cast   upon 

those  who    gently    attempted    to  stem  this   tide, 

which  threatened  the  destruction  of  true   religion 

as  a  reasonable  services.      Vv^here  the    essence    of 

true  religion  Is  placed  in  customs  and  Uvsages  which 

have  no  tendency  to  sariCtify  the  several   powers 

through  the  medium    of  the   understanding,    we 

ought  not  to  be  surprized,  v/hen  we    contemplate 

instances  of  extravagance  and  aposta.cy.     Human 


216  JUMPERS. 


nature,  in  general,  is  not  capable  of  such  exer- 
tions for  any  length  of  time,  and  when  the  spirits 
become  exhausted,  and  the  heart  kindled  by  sym- 
path}^  is  subsided,  the  unhappy  persons  sink  into 
themselves,  and  seek  for  support  in  intoxication. 
It  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  there  are  man}^  sincere 
and  pious  persons  to  be  found  among  this  class  of 
people — men  who  think  they  are  doing  God's 
j?ervice,  whilst  they  are  the  victims  of  fanaticism. 
These  are  objects  of  compassion,  and  doubtless 
will  find  it  l]i  God.  But  it  is  certain,  from  in- 
contestible  facts,  that  a  number  of  persons  have 
attached  themselves  to  those  religious  societies, 
who  place  a  very  disproportioned  stress  on  the 
practice  of  jumpingy  from  suspicious  motives. 
The  theory  and  practice  of  such  a  religion  are 
easily  understood  ;  for  the  man  who  possesses  an 
unbkishing  confidence,  and  the  greatest  degree  of 
muscular  energy,  is  likely  to  excel  in  bodily 
exercise.  Upon  the  whole,  it  is  probable,  as  such 
an  exercise  has  no  countenance  in  reason  or  re- 
velation, that  it  has  been,  and  is  still  productive 
of  more  evil  than  good.  Many  of  the  ministerv^, 
who  ha^  e  been  foremost  in  cnconvixglng  jumping, 
SGcnv^d  to  have  nothing  in  view  but  the  gratifica- 
tion of  their  vanity,  ijiflaming  the  passions  of  the 
multitude  by  extravagant  representations  of  the 
character  of  the  Deity — the  condition  of  man — 
and  desiirnof  the  Saviour's  mission.      The  minis- 


JUMPERS.  217 


ter  that  wishes  not  to  study  to  shew  himself  of 
God,  has  only  to  favour  jumjmig,  with  its  ap- 
pendages ;  for  as  reason  is  out  of  the  question,  in 
such  a  religion,  he  can  be  under  no  fear  of  shock- 
ing it.  It  is  some  consolation  to  real  religion,  to 
add,  that  this  practice  is  on  the  decline,  as  the 
more  sober  or  conscientious,  who  wrere  at  first  at 
a  loss  to  judge  where  this  practice  might  carry 
them,  have  seen  its  pernicious  tendency. 

Such  is  the  account  of  the  JUMPERS,  whicli- 
with  a  few  alterations,  has  been  transmitted  me\ 
by  a  respectable  minister,  w^ho  frequently  visits 
the  principality.  It  is  to  be  hoped,  that  the  exer- 
cise of  common  sense  will  in  time  recover  them 
from  these  extravagant  extasies,  which  pain  the 
rational  friends  of  revelation,  and  yield  matter  of 
exultation  to  the  advocates  of  infidelity. 

About  the  year  1785,  I  myself  happened  "very 
accidentally  to  be  present  at  a  meeting,  w^hich 
terminated  in  jumping.  It  was  held  in  the  open 
air,  on  a  Sunday  evening,  near  Newport,  in 
Monmouthshire.  The  preacher  was  one  of  Lady 
Huntingdon's  students,  w^ho  concluded  his  ser- 
mon with  the  recommendation  of  jumping  ;  and 
to  allow  him  the  praise  of  consistency,  he  got  down 
from  the  chair  on  which  he  stood,  and  jumped 
along  with  them.  The  arguments  he  adduced 
for  this  purpose  were,  that  David  danced  before 
the  ark — that  the  babe  leaped  in  the  womb  of 
S 


218  JUMPERS, 


Elizabeth — and  that  the  man  whose  lameness  was 
removed,  leaped  and  praised  God  for  the 
mercy  which  he  had  received.  He  expatiated 
on  these  topics  with  uncommon  fervency,  and 
then  drew  the  inference,  that  they  ought  to  shew 
similar  expressions  of  joy,  for  the  blessings 
which  Jesus  Christ  had  put  into  their  possession. 
He  then  gave  an  empassioned  sketch  of  the  suf- 
ferings of  the  Saviour,  and  hereby  roused  the  pas- 
sions of  a  few  around  him  into  a  state  of  violent 
agitation.  About  nine  men  and  seven  women,  for 
some  little  time,  rocked  to  and  fro,  groaned 
aloud,  and  then  ju7nped  with  a  kind  of  frantic 
fury.  S.ome  of  the  audience  flew  in  all  directions ; 
others  gazed  on  in  silent  amazement  !  They  all 
gradually  dispersed,  except  the  jumpers^  who 
.continued  their  exertions  from  eight  in  the  e veiling 
to  near  eleven  at  night.  I  saw  the  conclusioa 
of  it  ;  they  at  last  kneeled  down  in  a  circle,  hold- 
ing each  other  by  the  hand,  while  one  of  them 
prayed  with  great  fervor,  and  then  all  rising  up 
from  off  their  knees,  departed.  But  previous  to 
their  dispersion,  they  wildly  pohited  up  towards 
the  sky,  and  reminded  one  another  that  they  should 
soon  meet  there  and  be  never  again  separated  ! 
I  quitted  the  spot  with  astonishment.  Such  dis- 
orderly scenes  cannot  be  of  any  service  to  the 
deluded  individuals,  nor  can  they  prove  beneficial 
to  society.    Whatever  credit  we  may  and  ought  to 


UNIVERSALISTS.  219 


allow  this  class  of  Christians  for  good  intentions, 
it  is  impossible  not  to  speak  of  the  practice  itself, 
without  adopting  termi?  of  unqualified  disappro- 
bation. The  reader  is  referred  to  Bingley-s  and 
Evans^  Tour  through  Wales,  where  (as  many 
particulars  are  detailed  respecting  the  Jumpersy 
his  curiosity  will  receive  a  still  farther  gratifica- 
tion. It  pains  the  author  of  the  present  work, 
that  he  had  it  not  in  his  power  to  give  a  more 
favourable  account  of  them.  The  decline  of  so 
unbecoming  a  practice  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  be 
soon  followed  by  its  utter  extinction. 


UNIFERSJLISTS, 

THE  UNIVERSALISTS,  properly  so  called,  are 
those  who  believe,  that  as  Christ  died  for  all,  so 
before  he  shall  have  delivered  up  his  mediatorial 
Mngdom  to  the  Father,  all  shall  be  brought  to  a 
partic4patioii  of  the  benefits  of  his  death,  in  their 
restoration  to  holiness  and  happiness.  Their 
scheme  includes  a  reconciliation  of  the  tenets  of 
Calvinism  and  Arminianism,  by  uniting  the  lead- 
ing doctrines  of  both,  as  far  as  they  are  found  in 
the  scriptures  :  from  which  union  they  think  the 
sentiment  of  universal  restoration  naturally  flows. 

Thus   they   reason — ^*  The    Arminian    proves 
from  scripture,  that  God  is  love  ;  that  he  is  good 


220  UKIVERSALISTS. 


to  all ;  that  his  tender  mercy  is  over  all  hi^ 
works ;  that  he  gave  his  son  for  the  world  ;  that 
Christ  died  for  the  world,  even  for  the  whole 
world  ;  and  that  God  will  have  all'  men  to  be 
saved. 

'^  The  Calvini^t  proves  also  from  scripture, 
that  God  is  without  variableness  or  shadow  of 
turning  ;  that  his  love,  like  himself,  alters  not  ; 
that  the  death  of  Christ  will  be  efficacious  towards 
all  for  whom  it  was  intended  ;  that  God  will  per- 
form all  his  pleasure,  and  that  his  council  shall 
stand.  The  union  of  these  scriptural  principles,  is 
the  final  restoration  of  all  men. 

"  Taking  the  principles  of  the  Calvinists  and 
Arminians  separately,  we  find  the  former  teach- 
ing, or  at  least  inferring,  that  God  doth  not  love 
all  ;  but  that  he  made  the  greater  part  of  men  to 
be  endless  monuments  of  his  wrath. — The  latter 
declaring  the  love  of  God  to  all  ;  but  admitting 
his  Jinal  failure  of  restoring  the  greater  part. 
The  God  of  the  former  is  great  in  power  and 
wisdom,  but  deficient  in  goodness,  and  capri- 
cious in  his  conduct  :  who  that  views  the  char- 
acter can  sincerely  love  it  ?  The  God  of  the  latter, 
is  exceeding  good  ;  but  deficient  in  power  and 
wisdom  :  who  can  trust  such  a  being  ?  If,  there- 
fore, both  Calvinists  and  Arminians  love  and 
trust  the  Deity,  it  is  not  under  the  character 
which  their  Several  systemis  ascribe   to  him  ;  but 


UNIVERSALISTSe  S2l 

W..  ■  >  ■  I        .         ■  III  ^_^ 

they  are  constrained  to  hide  the  imperfection^ 
which  their  views  cast  upon  him,  and  boast  of  a 
God,  whose  highest  glori/y  their  several  schemes 
will  not  admit." 

The  Universalists  teach  the  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion ;  but  not  in  the  exclusive  Calvinistic  sense  of 
it ;  they  suppose  that  God  has  chosen  some,  for 
the  good  of  all ;  and  that  his  final  purpose  towards 
all,  is  intimated  by  his  calling  his  elect  the  first 
born  and  the  first  fruits  of  his  creatures,  which, 
say  they,  implies  other  branches  of  his  family,  and 
a  future   in-gathering  of  the  harvest  of  mankind. 

They  teach  also  that  the  righteous  shall  have 
part  in  the  first  resurrection,  shall  be  blessed  and 
happy,  and  be  made  priests  and  kings  to  God  and 
to  Christ,in  the  millennial  kingdom,  and  that  over 
them  the  second  death  shall  have  no  power  ;  that 
the  wicked  will  receive  a  punishment  apportioned 
to  their  crimes,  that  punishment  itself  is  a  media- 
torial work,  and  founded  upon  mercy,  consequent 
ly,  that  it  is  a  means  of  humbling,  subduing,  and 
finally  reconciling  the  sinner  to  God. 

They  add,  that  the  words  rendered  everlastings 
eternal^  for  every  and  for  ever  and  every  in  the 
scriptures,  are  frequently  used  to  express  the  du- 
ration of  things  that  have  ended,  or  must  end  ; 
and  if  it  is  contended,  that  these  words  are  some- 
times used  to  express  proper  eternityy  they  an- 
S2 


222  UNIVERSALI5TS. 

swer,  that  then,  the  subject  with  which  the  words 
are  connected,  must  determine  the  sense  of  them  ; 
^and  as  there  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  future  pun- 
shment  which  can  be  rendered  as  a  reason  why 
it  should  be  endless,  they  infer  that  the  above 
words  ought  always  to  be  taken  in  a  limited  sense, 
when  connected  with  the  infliction  of  misery. 

The  Universalists  have  to  contend  on  the  one 
hand  with  such  as  hold  the  eternity  of  future 
misery,  and  on  the  other  w^ith  those  who  teach 
that  destruction  or  extinction  of  being,  will  be 
the  final  state  of  the  wicked.  In  answer  to  the 
latter,  they  say,  "  That  before  we  admit  that  God 
is  under  the  necessity  of  striking  any  of  his  ration- 
al creatures  out  of  being,  we  ought  to  pause  and 
enquire — 

^*  Whether  such  an  act  is  consistent  with  the 
scriptural  character  of  the  Deity,  as  possessed  of 
all  possible  wisdom,  goodness  and  power  ? 

^^  Whether  it  would  not  contradict  many  parts 
of  scripture  ;  such,  for  instance,  as  speak  of  the 
restitution  of  all  things — the  gathering  together 
of  all  things  in  Christ — the  reconciliation  of  all 
things  to  the  father,  by  the  blood  of  the  cross — 
the  destruction  of  death,  &c.^  These  texts,  they 
think,  are  opposed  equally  to  endless  misery,  and 
to  final  destruction. 


UNIVERSALISTS.  223 

^^  Whether  those  who  will  be  finally  destroy- 
ed, are  not  in  a  worse  state  through  the  media- 
tion of  Christ,  than  they  w^ould  have  been  with- 
out it  ?  This  question  is  founded  on  a  position  of 
the  friends  of  destruction ;  viz.  that  extinction  of 
being,  without  a  resurrection,  would  have  been 
the  only  punishment  of  sin,  if  Christ  had  not  be- 
come the  resurrection  and  the  life  to  men.  Conse- 
quently, the  resurrection  and  future  punishment 
spring  from  the  system  of  mediation  ;  but,  they 
ask,  is  the  justification  to  life,  which  came  upon 
all  men  in  Christ  Jesus,  nothing  more  than  a  res- 
urrection to  endless  death  to  millions  ? 

^*  Whether  the  word,  destruction,  will  war- 
rant such  a  conclusion  ?  It  is  evident  that  destruc- 
tion is  often  used  in  scripture  to  signify  ,a  cessation 
of  present  existence  only,  without  any  contradic- 
tion of  the  promises  that  relate  to  a  future  univer- 
sal resurrection.  The}^  think,  therefore,  that  they 
ought  to  admit  an  universal  restoration  of  men, 
notwithstanding  the  future  destruction  which  is 
threatened  to  sinners  :*  because,  say  they,  the 
scripture  teach  both." 

They  also  think  the  doctrine  of  destruction, 
in  the  above  acceptation  of  it,   includes  two  con- 

*  See  Vidler's  Notes  on  Winchester 'b  Dialogues  on  the  Re- 
otoration,  fourth  edition,  p.  176. 


224  UNIVERSALISTS. 

siderable  difficulties.  The  scripture  uniformly 
teach  degrees  of  punishment,  according  to  trans- 
gression ;  but  does  extinction  of  being  admit  of 
this  ?  Can  the  greatest  of  sinners  be  more  effect- 
ually destroyed  than  the  least  ? — -Again,  we  are 
taught  that,  however  dark  any  part  of  the  divine 
conduct  may  appear  in  the  present  state,  yet  jus- 
tice will  be  clear  and  decisive  in  its  operations 
hereafter  ;  but  the  doctrine  of  destruction  (in  their 
judgment)  does  not  admit  of  this,  for  what  is  the 
surprising  difference  betwixt  the  moral  character 
of  the  xvorst  good  man,  and  the  best  bad  man, 
that  the  portion  of  the  one  should  be  endless  life, 
and  that  of  the  other  endless  death  ? 

They  suppose  the  universal  doctrine  to  be  most 
consonant  to  the  perfections  of  the  Deity — most 
worthy  of  the  character  of  Christ,  as  the  media* 
tor  ;  and  that  the  scriptures  cannot  be  made  con- 
sistent with  themselves,  upon  any  other  plan. 
They  teach  that  ardent  love  to  God,  peace,  meek- 
ness, candour,  and  universal  love  to  men,  are  the 
natural  result  of  their  views." 

This  doctrine  is  not  new.  Origen,  a  Christian 
father,  who  lived  in  the  third  century,  wrote  in 
favour  of  it.  St.  Augustine,  of  Hippo,  mentions 
some  divines  in  his  day,  whom  he  calls  the  mer- 
ciful doctors,  who  held  it.  The  German  Bap- 
tists, m.any  of  them,  even  before  the  reformation, 
propagated  it.       The   people    called  Tunkers,  hi 


UNIVERSALISTS.  22  & 

■  *■■      '    ■  '^  '     ■   ■      ■  ■       ■'■■'%■ 

America,  descended  from  the  German  Baptists^ 
mostly  hold  it.  The  Menonites,  in  Holland^ 
have  long  held  it.  In  England,  about  the  latter 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Dr.  Rust,  Bishop 
of  Dromore,  in  Ireland,  published  A  Letter  of 
Resolutions  concernmg  Origeriy  and  tlie  chief 
of  his  opinions y  in  which  it  has  been  thought  he 
favoured  the  Universal  Doctrine,  which  Origen 
held.  And  Mr.  Jeremiah  White  wrote  his  book 
in  favour  of  the  same  sentiments  soon  afterwards. 
The  Chevalier  Ramsay,  in  his  elaborate  work  of 
the  Philosophical  principles  of  Natural  and  Re- 
vealed Religion  espouses  it.  Archbishop  Tillot- 
son,  in  one  of  his  sermons,  supposes  fature  pun- 
ishment to  be  of  limited  duration,  as  does  Dr. 
Burnet,  master  of  the  Charter-House,  in  his  book 
on  the  state  of  the  dead. 

But  the  writers  of  late  years,  who  have  treated 
upon  the  subject  most  fully,  are  Dr.  Newton, 
Bishop  of  Bristol,  in  his  Dissertations  ;  Mr. 
Stonehouse,  Rector  of  Islington  ;  Dr.  Chaunc}^, 
of  Boston,  in  America  ;  Dr.  Hartley,  in  his  pro- 
found work  of  man  ;  Mr.  Purves,  of  Edinburgh ; 
Mr.  Eihanan  Winchester,  in  his  Dialogues  on 
Universal  Restoration  (a  new  edition  of  which, 
with  explanatory  notes,  has  been  recently  pub- 
lished) and  Mr.  William  Vidler.  See  the  Uni- 
versalisVs  Miscellany^  now  entitled  the  Theolo- 
yical    Magazine   and    Impartial    Review,    (a 


226  UNIVERSALISTSV 


monthly  publication  of  merit)  containing  many 
valuable  papers,  for  and  against  Universal  Re. 
storation,  where  the  controversy  on  the  subject 
between  Mr.  Vidler  and  Mr.  Fuller,  will  be 
found.  But  Mr,  Fuller's  Letters  have  been  since 
printed  separately,  and  Mr.  Vidler'iy  Letter  to 
Mr.  Fuller,  on  the  Universal  Restoration,  with 
a  statement  of  facts  attending  that  controversy, 
and  some  strictures  on  Scrutator's  Review,  are 
also  just  published.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Browne^  a 
clergyman  of  the  church  of  England,  has  pro- 
duced an  ingenious  essay  on  the  subject.  Mr. 
R.  Wright,  of  Wisbeach,  has  also  wTitten  a  tract 
called.  The  Eternity  of  Hell  Tormets  Inde- 
fensibley  in  reply  to  Dr.  Ryland.  The  late  Mr. 
N.  Scarlett  likewise  published  a  new  translation 
of  the  Testament,  in  w^hich  the  Greek  term  aiov 
in  the  singular  and  plural,  is  rendered  age  and 
ages ;  and  in  his  Appendix  proposed  that  its  de- 
rivative ccioviay  should  be  rendered  age-lastingy 
instead  of  everlasting  and  eternal. 

For  still  further  information  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  a  very  critical  work  just  published,  en- 
titled. An  Essay  on  the  Duration  of  a  Future  State 
of  Punishments  and  Rewards,  by  John  Simpson, 
who  has  written  several  excellent  pieces,  for  the 
illustration  of  Christianity. 


REl3L\*AN    UNIVERSALISTS.  227 

RELLYJN  UNIFERSAIISTS. 

AMONG  the  professors  of  Universal  Salva- 
tion, which  have  appeared  in  the  last  century,  is 
to  be  ranked  a  Mr,  James  Relly,  who  first 
commenced  the  ministerial  character,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  late  Mr.  George  Whitfield,  and  with 
the  same  sentiments  as  are  generally  maintained 
at  the  Tabernacle — he  was  considered  and  received 
with  great  popularity.  Upon  a  change  of  hh 
views,  he  encountered  reproach,  and  of  course 
was  soon  pronounced  an  enemy  to  godliness,  &c. 
It  appears  that  he  became  convinced  of  the  union 
of  mankind  to  God,  in  the  person  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  And  upon  this  per- 
suasion he  preached  a  finished  salvation,  called 
ty  the  Apostle  Jude,  ^^  The  Common  Salvation.'* 
The  relation  and  unity  of  the  first  and  second 
Adam  unto  God,  the  author  and  fountain  of  all 
things,  was  the  foundation  of  those  sentiments 
he  continued  to  maintain  during  his  life  ; — a^id 
he  was  followed  by  a  considerable  number  of 
persons  who  were  convinced  of  the  propriety  of 
liis  views.  Since  his  death,  his  sentiments  have 
been  retained  by  such  who  were  attached  to  them 
in  sincerity,  and  although  time  has  necessarily 
removed  a  considerable  part  to  the  world  of 
spirits,  a  branch  of  the  survivors  still  meet  at 
"the  Chanel  .in    Windmill-street^   FinsUury-square, 


228  RELLYAN  UNIVERSALISTS. 

where  there  are  different  brethren  who  speak. — 
The\^  are  not  observers  of  ordinances,  such  as 
water  baptism  and-  the  sacrament — professing  to 
believe  in  only  one  baptism — which  they  call  an 
Immersion  of  the  mind  or  conscience  into  truth 
by  the  teaching  of  the  spirit  of  God — and  by  the 
same  spirit  they,  are  enabled  to  feed  on  Christ  as 
the  bread  of  life,  professing  that  in,  and  with 
Jesus,  they  possess  all  things.  They  inculcate 
and  maintain  good  works  for  necessary  purposes, 
liut  contend  that  the  principal  and  only  works 
which  ought  to  be  attended  to,  is  the  doing 
real  good  without  religious  ostentation  ; — that  to 
relieve  the  miseries  and  distresses  of  mankind, 
according  to  our  ability,  in  doing  more  real  good 
than  the  superstitious  observance  of  religious  cere- 
monies— in  general  they  appear  to  believe  that 
there  will  be  a  resurrection  to  life,  and  a  resur- 
rection to  condemnation — that  believers  only 
will  be  among  the  former,  who  as  first  fruits,  and 
kings  and  priests  will  have  part  in  the  first  resur- 
rection, and  shall  reign  with  Christ  in  his  king- 
dom of  the  millennium  ;  that  unbelievers  who  are 
after  raised,  must  wait  the  manifestation  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  world — under  that  condemnation 
of  conscience,  which  a  mind  in  darkness  and 
wTath  must  necessarily  feel  : — that  believers,  call- 
ed kings  and  priests  will  be  made  the  medium 
of  communication  to  their  condemned  brethren — 


RELLYAN  UNIVERSALISTS.  229 

and,  like  Joseph  to  his  brethren — though  he  spoke 
roughly  to  them,  in  reality  overflowed  with  af- 
fection and  tenderness  ;  that  ultimately — every 
knee  shall  bow — and  every  tongue  confess,  that 
in  the  Lord  they  have  righteousness  and  strength 
— and  thus  ever}^  enemy  shall  be  subdued  to  the 
kingdom  and  glory  of  the  great  Mediator, 

A  Mr.  Murray,  belonging  to  this  society,  emi- 
grated to  America  previous  to  or  about  the  time 
of  the  war— He  preached  the  same  sentiments  at 
Boston  and  elsewhere,  and  was  appointed  chap- 
lain to  General  Washington,  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  adherents  at  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and 
other  parts.  Mr.  Relly  pubhshed  several  works 
— the  principal  of  which  were  '^  Union'' — ^^  The 
Trial  of  Spirits"—**  Christian  Liberty"—^*  One 
Baptism"—"  The  Salt  of  Sacrifice"—*^  Anti- 
christ Resisted" — **  Letters  on  Universal  Salva- 
tion"— "  The  Cherubimical  Mystery" — "  Hymns," 
&c.  &c.  His  followers  now  meet  at  the  Chapel 
in  Windmill  street,  Finsburj^-square,  Sunday 
mornings  and  evenings.  Messrs.  Rait,  Coward, 
Jeffreys,  &c.  speak  from  time  to  time,  and  Mr. 
Coward  has  published  two  little  treatises — enti- 
tled **  Dei^m  traced  to  its  Source,"  and  **  The 
Comparison  ;  or,  the  Gospel  preached  of  God  to 
the  Patriarchs,"  compared  with  the  gospel  preach- 
ed in  the  present  day.  There  are  also  some  of 
those  same  sentiments  in  other  parts  of  the  king- 
T 


230  RELLYAN  ITNIVERSALISTS, 

dom,   and   particularly  at  and   in  the  vicinity  of 
Plj^mouth-Dock,  and  Plymouth  in  Devonshire.* 

The  writers,  who  have  of  late  particularly  ani- 
madverted upon  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Resto^ 
ration  are,  in  America,  President  Edwards  and  his 
son.  Dr.  Edwards  ;  and  in  England,  Mr.  Daniel 
Taylor,  Mr.  Fisher,  and  Mr.  Andrew  Fuller.f 

Mr.  Broughton,  at  the  close  of  his  Dissertations 
on  Futurity  (shocked  at  the  idea  of  eternal 
punishment   in   every   case)  proposes  the  folio w- 


*  Such  is  the  account  of  the  followers  of  Mr.  Relly,  sent  me 
by  a  respectable  member  amongst  them.  I  have  taken  the  Hb- 
erty  of  appl)ing  to  tliem  the  title  of  Relly  an  Unrversalists^  merely 
by  way  of  distinction.  The  term  Antinoir.ian  has  been  bestow- 
ed upon  them  ;  but  as  it  conveys  a  degree  of  reproach  it  is 
here  avoided.  Indeed,  beheving  that  Clirist  has  made  saiis-e 
faction  for  the  sins  of  all  mankind,  they  are  of  opinion  that 
no  future  punisliment  attaches  to  unbelievers,  except  tliat  con- 
demnatory suspence,  which  they  feel  after  death,  till  the  mani- 
festation of  the  S  aviour  !  Tliis  sentiment  most  probably  has 
subjected  them  to  the  imputation  of  Antinomianism — and  hence 
it  has  been  remarked  that  they  are  the  only  consistent  Satisfac- 
tionists  in  the  world.  For  sins  once  atoned  for,  cannot  be  the 
subject  of  punishment. 

t  For  most  of  the  above  account  of  the  Unirversalists^  preced- 
ing that  of  the  Rellyan  Universalists,  the  author  is  indebted  to  a 
popular  minister  of  that  persuasion  ;  and  the  sketch  of  the  De- 
sfruriicmsts  was  sent  by  a  gentleman  who  espouses  the  doctrine 
^C  destruction. 


d 


DESTRUCTIONISTS.  23J 

ing  hypothesis—^'  That  the  spirit  of  God  had 
made  choice  of  an  ambiguous  term  oaovioi  acknowl- 
edged on  both  sides,  sometimes  to  be  an  eternal^ 
and  sometimes  only  a  temporary  duration,  with 
Ithe  wise  view,  that  men  might  live  in  fear  of 
everlasting  punishment  ;  because,  it  is  possible^ 
it  may  be  everlasting  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
God  be  at  liberty,  (if  I  may  so  speak)  without  im- 
peachment of  his  faithfulness  and  truth,  to  mflict 
either  finite  or  infinite  punishment,  as  his  divine 
wisdom,  power,  and  goodness  shall  direct."  He 
however,  only  suggests  this  scheme  with  an  amf 
able  and  becoming  modesty. 


DESTRUCTIONISTS. 

BETWEEN  the  system  of  restoration  and  the 
system  of  endless  misery y  a  middle  hypothesis  oi 
the  FINAL  DESTRUCTION  of  the  wicked  (after 
having  suffered  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crimes)  has  been  adopted  more  particularly  hy  Dr. 
John  Taylor,  of  Norwich  ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bourne,, 
of  Birmingham  ;  and  Mr.  John  Marsom-,  in  t/,vo 
small  volumes,  of  whieh  there  has  been  a  second 
edition  with  additions.  They  say  that  the  scrip- 
ture possitively  asserts  this  doctrine  of  destruc- 
tion ;  that  the  nature  of  future  punishment  (w^hich 


232  DESTRUCTIONISTS. 


the  scripture  terms  death)  determines  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words  everlastings  eternaly  for  ever^ 
&c.  as  denoting  endless  duration  ;  because  no  law 
ever  did  or  can  inflict  the  punishment  of  death  for 
a  limited  period  ;  that  the  punishment  cannot  be 
corrective,  because  no  man  was  ever  put  to  death, 
either  to  convince  his  judgmejit  or  to  reform  his 
conduct  ;  that  if  the  wicked  receive  a  punish- 
ment apportioned  to  their  crimes,  their  deHver- 
ance  is  neither  to  be  attribured  to  the  mercy  of 
God,  nor  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  is  an 
act  of  absolote  justice  ;  and  finally,  that  the  me- 
diatorial kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  will  never  be 
delivered  up,  since  the  scripture  asserts,  that  of 
his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end.  Those  who 
maintain  these  sentiments  respecting  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  wicked,  are  accused  of  espousing  the 
doctrine  of  annihilation  ;  but  this  accusation  they 
repel,  alledging,  that  philosophically  speaking, 
there  can  be  no  annihilation,  and  that  destruction 
is  the  express  phrase  used  in  the  New  Testament, 
Of  this  sentiment  there  have  been  many  advocates 
distinguished  for  their  erudition  and  piety. 


SABBATARIANS.  233 

SABBATARIANS. 

THE  Sabbatarians  are  a  body  of  Christians 
who  keep  the  seventh  day  as  the  Sahhathy  and  are 
to  be  found  principally,  if  not  wholly,  among  the 
Baptists.  The  common  reasons  why  Christians 
observe  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath 
are,  that  on  this  day  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  ; 
that  the  apostles  assembled,  preached,  and  admin- 
istered the  Lord's  Supper,  and  that  it  has  been 
kept  by  the  church  for  several  ages,  if  not  from 
the  time  when  Christianity  was  originally  pro- 
mulgated. The  Sabbatarians,  however,  think 
these  reasons  unsatisfactory,  and  assert  that  the 
change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  was  effected  by  Constan- 
tine,  upon  his  conversion  to  the  Christian  religion* 
The  three  following  propositions  contain  a  sum- 
mary of  their  principles  as  to  this  article  of  the 
Sabbath,  by  which  they  stand  distinguished.  1st, 
That  God  hath  required  the  observation  of  the 
seventh,  or  last  day  of  every  w^eek,  to  be  observ- 
ed by  mankind  universally  for  the  weekly  sabbath. 
2dly,  That  this  command  of  God  is  perpetually 
binding  on  man  till  time  shall  be  no  more  ;  and 
3dly,  That  this  sacred  rest  of  the  seventh  day 
sabbath  is  not  (by  divine  authority)  changed  from 
the  seventh  and  last  to  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
or  that  the  scripture  doth  no  where  require  the 
T2 


234  SABBATARIANS. 


observation  of  any  other  day  of  the  week  for  the 
weekly  sabbath,  but  the  seventh  day  only.  There 
are  two  congregations  of  the  Sabbatarians  in  Lon- 
don, one  among  the  General  Baptists  meeting  in 
Mill-yard,  Goodman's  Fields,  the  other  among  the 
Particular  Baptists  meeting  in  Red-Cross-street, 
Cripplegate.  There  are  also  a  few  to  be  found  in 
different  parts  of  the  kingdom. 

Mr.  Morse  informs  us  that  there  are  many  Sab- 
batarians in  America.  ^^  Some  (says  he)  in 
Rhode  Island  observe  the  Jewish  or  Saturday  sab- 
bath, from  a  persuation  that  it  was  one  of  the  ten 
commandments,  which  they  plead  are  all  in  their 
nature  moral,  and  were  never  abrogated  in  the 
New  Testament.  Though,  on  the  contrary,  oth- 
e.i's  of  them  believe  it  originated  at  the  time  of  the 
creation,  in  the  command  given  to  Adam,  by  the 
Creator  himself.'*  See  Genesis,  chap.  ii.  3.  ^'  At 
New  Jersey  also  there  are  three  congregation  of 
the  Seventh  Day  Baptists  ;  and  at  Ephrata,  in 
Pennsylvania,  there  is  one  congregation  of  them 
called  Tunkers.  There  are  likewise  a  few  Bap- 
tists who  keep  the  seventh  day  as  holy  time,  who 
are  the  remains  of  the  Keithean  or  duaker  Bap- 
lists." 

This  tenet  has  given  rise  to  various  contro- 
versies, and  waiters  of  ability  have  appeared 
on  both    sides    of   the  question,       Mr.    Cornth- 


SABBATARIANS.  235 

waite,  a  respectable  minister  among  them,  about 
the  year  1740,  published  several  tracts  in  support  of 
it,  which  ought  to  be  consulted  by  those  who  wish 
to  obtain  satisfaction  on  the  subject.  The  reader 
should  also  have  recourse  to  Dr.  Chandler's  two 
discourses  on  the  Sabbath,  Mr.  Amner's  Disserta- 
tion on  the  Weekly  Festival  of  the  Christian 
Church,  Dr.  Kennicot's  Sermon  and  Dialogue  on 
the  Sabbath,  the  Rev.  S.  Palmer's  pubhcation  on 
the  Nature  and  Obligation  of  the  Christian  Sab- 
bath, and  Estlin's  apology  for  the  Sabbath — all  of 
which  are  worthy  of  attention.  But  whatever 
controversy  may  have  been  agitated  on  the  sub- 
ject, certain  it  is,  that  were  there  no  particular 
day  set  apart  for  the  purpose  of  devotion  (for 
which  some  in  the  present  day  contend)  our 
knowledge  of  human  nature  authorises  us  to  say, 
that  virtue  and  religion  would  be  either  greatly 
debilitated  or  finally  lost  from  among  mankind. 
The  Sabbatarians  hold  in  common  with  other 
Christians,  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  though  much  reduced  in  number,  de- 
serve this  distinct  mention,  on  account  of  their 
integrity  and  respectability.* 


*  Most  of  the  above  particulars  respecting  the  Sabbatarians 
were  communicated  to  the  author  by  some  worthy  individuals 
of  that  persuasion. 


236  MORAVfANS. 


M0RJFL4NS. 

THE  Moravians  are  supposed  to  have  arisen 
under  Nicholas  Lewis,  Count  of  Zinzendorf,  a 
German  nobleman,  who  died  1760.  They  were 
also  called  HernhuterSy  from  Hernhuthy  the  name 
of  the  village  where  they  were  first  settled.  The 
followers  of  Count  Zinzendorf  are  called  Mora- 
vians, because  the  first  converts  to  his  sj^stem 
were  some  Moravian  families  ;  the  society 
themselves,  how^ever  assert,  that  they  are  de- 
scended from  the  old  Moravian  and  Bohemian 
Brethren,  who  existed  as  a  distinct  sect  sixty 
years  prior  to  the  reformation.  They  also  stile 
themselves  Unitas  Fratrumy  or  the  United 
Brethren  ;  and,  in  general,  profess  to  adhere  to 
the  Augsburg  confession  of  faith.  When  the 
first  reformers  were  assembled  at  Augsburg  in 
Germany,  the  Protestant  Princes  employed  Me- 
lancthon,  a  divine  of  learning  and  moderation, 
to  draw  up  a  confession  of  their  faith,  expressed 
in  terms  as  little  offensive  to  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics as  a  regard  for  truth  would  permit.  And 
this  creed,  from  the  place  where  it  was  presented, 
is  called  the  Confession  of  Augsburg.  It  is 
not  easy  to  unravel  the  leading  tenets  of  the 
Moravians,  Opinions  and  practices  have  been 
attributed  to  them  of  an  exceptionable  nature, 
which  the  more  sensible  of  them  disavow.    They 


MORAVIANS.  237 


direct  their  worship  to  Jesus  Christ  ;  (addressing 
hymns  even  to  the  wound  or  hole  in  the  side  of 
the  Saviour)  ;  are  much  attached  to  instrumental 
as  well  as  vocal  music  in  their  religious  services ; 
and  discover  a  predilection  for  forming  themselves 
into  classes,  according  to  sex,  age,  and  charac- 
ter. Their  founder  not  only  discovered  his  zeal 
in  travelling  in  person  over  Europe,  but  has  taken 
special  care  to  send  missionaries  into  almost  every 
part  of  the  known  world.  They  revive  their  de- 
votion by  celebrating  agap^e,  or  love-feasts,  and 
the  casting  of  lots  is  used  amongst  them  to  know 
the  will  of  the  Lord.  The  sole  right  of  con- 
tracting marriage  lies  with  the  elders.  In  Mr. 
La  Trobe's  edition  of  Spangenburgh's  exposition 
of  Christian  doctrine,  their  principles  are  detailed 
at  length.  There  is  a  large  community  of  them 
at  a  village  near  Leeds,  which  excites  the  curiosi- 
ty of  the  traveller  ;  and  they  have  places  of  wor- 
ship in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Mr.  Rimius 
published  his  candid  narrative  of  this  people,  and 
Bishop  Lavington  (w^ho  wrote  also  against  the 
Methodists)  replied,  m  1755,  in  his  Moravians 
compared  and  detected.  Mr.  Weld,  in  his  Tra- 
vels through  the  United  StateSy  gives  a  curious 
account  of  a  Settlement  of  Moravians  at  Beth^ 
lehem,  honourable  to  their  virtue  and  piety. 

Dr.  Paley,  in   his  Evidences    of  Christianity^ 
pays  the   following   compliment  to   the  religious 


238  SANDEMANIANS, 

Practices  of  the  Moravians  and  Methodists  ;  he 
^n  speaking  of  the  first  Christians — ^^  After  men 
became  ChristianSy  much  of  their  time  was  spent 
in  prayer  and  devotion — in  religious  meetings — in 
celebrating  the  eucharist — in  conferences — in  ex- 
hortations— in  preaching — in  an  affectionate  inter- 
course with  one  another,  and  correspondence 
with  other  societies.  Perhaps  their  mode  of  life  in 
its  form  and  habit,  was  not  very  unlike  that  of  the 
Unitas  Fratrum  or  of  modern  Methodists. "^^ 
Be  it,  however,  the  desire  of  every  body  of 
Christians  not  only  thus  to  imitate  the  'primitive 
disciples  in  their  outward  conduct,  but  to  aspire 
after  the  peaceableness  of  t.^ezr  tempers,  and  the 
purity  of  their  lives.'' 


SJNDEMJNIJNS. 

Sandemanians,*  a  modern  sect,  that  origi- 
nated in  Scotland  about  the  year  1  728  ;  where  it 
is,  ^  at  this  time,  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
Glassites,  after  its  founder,  Mr.  John  Glas,  who 
w^as  a  minister  of  the  established  church  in  that 
kingdom,  but  being  charged  with  a  design  of 
subverting  the  national  covenant,  and  sapping  the 

*  The  author  has  been  favoured  with  tliis  entii'e  account  of 
the  Sandemanians  by  a  gent'eman  «f  respectability,  who  be- 
longs  to  tliat  body  of  Cluistians. 


SANDEMANIANS-  239 

foundation  of  all  national  establishments,  by 
maintaining  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  not  of 
this  worldy  was  expelled  by  the  synod  from  the 
church  of  Scotland.  His  sentiments  are  fully 
explained  in  a  tract  published  at  that  time,  enti- 
tled, ^^  The  Testimony  of  the  King  of  Martyrs," 
and  preserved  in  the  first  volume  of  his  worKs* 
In  consequence  of  Mr.  Glas's  expulsion  his  ad- 
herents formed  themselves  into  churches,  con- 
formable in  their  institution  and  discipline,  to 
what  the}'^  apprehend  to  be  the  plan  of  the  first 
churches  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  Soon 
after  the  year  1755,  Mr.  Robert  Sandeman,  an 
elder  in  one  of  thes  e  churches  in  Scotland,  pub- 
lished a  series  of  letters  addressed  to  Mr.  Hervey, 
occasioned  by  his  Theron  and  Aspasio,  in  which 
he  endeavors  to  shew,  that  his  notion  of  faith  is 
contradictory  to  the  scripture  account  of  it,  and 
could  only  serve  to  lead  men,  professedly  holding 
the  doctrines  called  Calvinistic,  to  establish  their 
own  righteousness  upon  their  frames,  feelings, 
and  acts  of  faith.  In  these  letters  Mr.  Sandemaa 
attempts  to  prove  that  faith  is  neither  more  nor 
less  than  a  simple  assent  to  the  divine  testimony 
concerning  Jesus  Christ,  delivered  for  the  of- 
1  fences  of  men,  and  raised  again  for  their  justifi- 
i  cation,  as  recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  He 
!  ^Iso  maitains  that  the  word  faith  or  belief,  is 
constantly  used  by  the   apostles   to  signify   what 


640  SANDEMANIAKS. 

is  denoted  by  it  in  common  discourse,  viz.  a  per- 
suasion of  the  truth  of  any  proposition,  and  that 
there  is  no  difference  between  believing  any  com- 
mon testimony  and  believing  the  apostolic  testi- 
mony, except  that  which  results  from  the  testi- 
mony itself,  and  the  divine  authority  on  which  it 
re'sts.  This  led  the  way  to  a  controversy  among 
those  w^ho  are  called  Calvinists,  concerning  the 
nature  of  justifying  faith,  and  those  who  adopted 
Mr.  Sandeman's  notion  of  it,  and  they  who  are 
denominated  Sandemanians,  formed  themselves 
into  church  order,  in  strict  fellowship  with  the 
churches  of  Scotland,  but  holding  no  kind  of 
communion  with  other  churches,  Mr.  Sandeman 
died  1772,  in  America. 

The  chief  opinion  and  practices  in  which  this 
sect  differs  from  other  Christians,  are,  their 
weekly  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  ;  their 
love-feasts,  of  which  every  member  is  not  only 
allowed,  but  required  to  partake,  and  which  con- 
sist of  their  dining  together  at  each  other's  houses 
in  the  interval  between  the  morning  and  after- 
noon service— their  kiss  of  charity  used  on  this 
occasion,  at  the  admission  of  a  new  member,  and 
at  other  times  when  they  deem  it  necessary  and 
proper ;  their  w^eekly  collection  before  the  Lord's 
Supper,  for  the  support  of  the  poor  and  defraying 
other  expences  ;  mutual  exhortation  ;  abstinence 
iFom  blood  and  things   strangled  ;  washing  each 


SANDEMANIANS.  241 

Other's  feet,  when,  as  a  deed  of  mercy,  it  might 
be  an  expression  of  love  ;  the  precept  concerning 
which,  as  well  as  other  precepts,  they  understand 
literally — community  of  goods,  so  far  as  that 
every  one  is  to  consider  all  that  he  has  in  his  pos- 
session and  power  liable  to  the  calls  of  the  poor 
and  the  church,  and  the  unlawfulness  of  laying 
up  treasures  upon  earth,  by  setting  them  apart  for 
any  distant,  future,  and  uncertain  use.  They  al- 
low of  public  and  private  diversions  so  far  as  they 
are  not  connected  with  circumstances  really  sin- 
ful :  but  apprehending  a  lot  to  be  sacred,  disap- 
prove of  lotteries,  playing  at  cards,  dice,  &c. 

They  maintain  a  plurality  of  elders,  pastors,  or 
bishops,  in  each  church,  and  the  necessity  of  the 
presence  of  two  elders,  in  every  act  of  discipline, 
and  at  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

In  the  choice  of  these  elders,  want  of  learning 
and  engagement  in  trade  are  no  sufficient  objec- 
tions, if  qualified  according  to  the  instructions 
given  to  Timothy  and  Titus  ;  but  second  marri- 
ages disqualify  for  the  offixe  ;  and  they  are  or, 
dained  by  prayer  and  fasting,  imposition  of  hands, 
and  giving  the  right  hand  of  fellowship. 

In  their  discipline  they  are  strict  and  severe, 
and  think  themselves  obliged  to  separate  from  the 
communion  and  worship  of  all  such  religious 
societies,  as  appear  to  them  not  to  profess  the 
.s/mple  truth  for  their  only  ground  of  hope,  and 
u 


242  HUTCHINSONIANS. 

who  do  not  walk  in  obedience  to  it.  We  shall 
eiily  add,  that  in  every  transaction  they  esteem 
unanimity  to  be  absolutely  necessary. 


HUTCHINS0NL4NS. 

HureHINSONlANS,  the  followers  of  John 
Hutchinson,  born  in  Yorkshire,  1674,  and  who  in 
the  early  part  of  life  served  the  Duke  of  Somer- 
set, in  the  capacity  of  a  steward.  The  Hebrew 
scriptures,  he  says,  comprise  a  perfect  system  of 
natural  philosophy,  theology,  and  religion.  In 
opposition  to  Dr.  Woodward's  Natural  History  of 
the  Earth,  Mr,  Hutchinson,  in  1 724,  published  the 
Srst  part  of  his  curious  book,  called,  Moseses 
Principia*  Its  second  part  was  presented  to  the 
public  in  1727,  which  contains,  as  he  apprehends, 
the  principles  of  the  scripture  philosophy,  which 
are  a  plenum  and  the  air,  So_high  an  opinion  did 
he  entertain  of  the  Hebrew  language,  that  he 
thouglit  the  Almighty  must  have  employed  it  to 
communicate  ever3^  species  of  knowledge,  and 
that  accordingly  every  species  of  knowledge  is  to 
be  found  in  the  Old  Testament.  Of  his  mode  of 
philosophising  the  following  specimen  is  brought 
forward  to  the  reader's  attention.  ^^  The  air  (he 
supposes)  exists  in  three  conditions,  fire,  light,  and 
spirit,  the  tw^o  latter  are  the  finer  and  grosser 
parts  of  the  air  in  motion  :  from  the  earth  to  the 


DUNKERS.  243 


sun,  the  air  is  finer  and  finer  until  it  becomes  pure 
light  near  the  confines  of  the  sun,  and  fire  in  the 
orb  of  the  sun,  or  solar  focus.  From  the  earth 
towards  the  circumference  of  this  system,  in  which 
he  includes  the  fixed  stars,  the  air  becomes  gross- 
er and  grosser  until  it  becomes  stagnant,  in  which 
condition  it  is  at  the  utmost  verge  of  this  system^ 
from  whence  (in  his  opinion)  the  expression  of 
outer  darkness^  and  blackness  of  darkness  used 
in  the  New  Testament  seems  to  be  taken." 

The  followers  of  Mr.  Hutchinson  are  numer- 
ous, and  among  others  the  Rev.  Mr,  Romaine, 
Lord  Duncan  Forbes,  of  Culloden,  and  the  late 
amiable  Dr.  Home,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  who  pub- 
lished an  Abstract  of  Mr.  Hutchinson's  writings. 
They  have  never  formed  themselves  into  any  dis- 
tinct church  or  society. 

The  Dunkers  and  Shakers  are  two  sects  pecu- 
liar to  America. 


DUNKERS. 


THE  DuNKEKS  (or  Tunkers)  arose  about  1721, 
and  formed  themselves  into  a  kind  of  common- 
wealth, mostly  in  Pennsylvania.  They  baptize 
by  immersion,  dress   like   the  Dominican   friars 


244  SHAKERS. 


never  shave  head  nor  beard,  have  diffc^rent  apart- 
ments for  the  sexes,  live  chiefly  on  roots  and  ve- 
getables, except  at  their  love-feasts,  when  they 
^at  only  mutton.  It  is  said  that  no  bed  is  allowed 
them  but  in  case  of  sickness,  for  in  their  separate 
cells  they  have  a  bench  to  lie  upon,  and  a  block 
ef  wood  for  their  pillow.  Their  principal  tenet 
is  the  mortification  of  the  body,  and  they  deny 
the  eternity  of  future  punishment.  They  are 
» ommonly  called  the  harmless  Bunkers. 


SHJKERS. 

THE  Shakers,  instituted  in  1774,  are  the 
followers  of  Anna  Leese,  whom  they  style  the 
elect  Lady,  and  the  mother  of  all  the  Elect. 
They  say  she  is  the  woman  mentioned  in  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  the  Revelations,  can  speak 
seventy-two  tongues,  and  converses  with  the  dead. 
Their  enthusiasm  is  vented  in  jumping,  dancing, 
and  violent  exertions  of  the  body,  which  bringing 
on  shakingy  they  are  termed  Shakers.  This 
dancing,  they  say,  denotes  their  victory  over 
sin.  Their  most  favourite  exercise  is  turning 
round  for  an  hour  or  two,  which,  in  their  opin- 
ion, shews  the  great  power  of  God.  See  a  curi- 
ous account  of  the  Shakers  in  the  ^first  volume 
of  the  Duke  de  la  Rochefoucault's  Travels 
through  America^ 


NEW    AMERICAN  SECT,  245 

NEW  JMERICJN  SECT. 

^^  Many  of  those  who  lately  migrated  from 
Wales  to  America,  have  adopted  the  following 
articles  as  their  religious  constitution.  1.  The 
convention   shall  be  called  the  Christian  Church' 

^^  2.  It  shall  never  be  called  by  another  name, 
or  be  distinguished  by  the  particular  tenets  of  any 
man  or  set  of  men, 

*^  3.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  head — believers  in 
him  the  only  members — and  the  New  Testament 
the  only  rule  of  the   fraternity. 

*^  ^4.  In  mental  matters,  each  member  shall  en- 
joy his  own  sentiments,  and  freely  discuss  every 
subject  :  but  in  discipline,  a  strict  conformity  with 
the  precepts  of  Christ,  is  required. 

^^  5.  Every  distinct  society  belonging  to  this 
association,  shall  have  the  same  power  of  admit- 
ting its  members,  electing  its  officers,  and  in  case 
of  mal-conduct,  of  impeaching  them. 

"  6.  Delegates  from  the  different  congrega- 
tions, shall  meet  from  time  to  time,  at  an  ap- 
pointed place,  to  consult  the  welfare  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  general  interest. 

"  7.  At  every  meeting  for  religious  worship, 
collections  shall  be  made  for  the  poor,  and  the 
U2 


246  MYSTICS. 


promulgation  of  the  gospel  among  the  Heathens.'*^ 
This  plan,  which  has  many  traits  to  recom- 
mend it,  originated  chiefly  with  the  Rev,  M,  J. 
ReeSy  who  a  few  years  ago  emigrated  from 
Wales,  and  has  distinguished  himself  in  America, 
by  his  talents  and  activity. 

As  to  the  other  sects  in  the  United  States,  they 
are  much  the  same  as  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
For  an  account  of  them,  the  reader  may  consult 
Morsels  American  Geography^  and  Winterho- 
ihom^s  History  of  America. 


MYSTICS. 


THE  Mystics  are  those  who  profess  a  pure 
and  sublime  devotion,  with  a  disinterested  love  of 
God,  free  from  all  selfish  considerations.  Passive 
contemplation  is  a  state  of  perfection  to  which 
they  aspire.  Of  this  description  there  have  been 
many  singular  characters,  especially  Madam 
Guyon,  a  French  lady,  who  made  a  great  noise 
in  the  religious  world.  Fenelon,  the  amiable 
Archbi:^hop  of  Cambray,  favoured  the  sentiments 
gf  this  female  devotee,  for  which  he  was  repri- 
manded by  the  Pope,  and  to  whose  animadver- 
sions he  most  dutijully  assented  contrary  to  the 
convictions  of  his  own  mind,     It  is  not  uncom- 


SWEDENBORGIANS.  247 


mon  for  the  Mystics  to  allegorise  certain  passa- 
ges of  scripture,  at  the  same  time  not  denying 
the  literal  sense,  as  havhig  an  allusion  to  the  in- 
ward experience  of  believers.  Thus,  according 
to  them,  the  word  Jerusalciriy  which  is  the  name 
of  the  capital  of  Judea,  signifies  allegorically  the 
church  militant  ;  morally,  a  believer  ;  and  mys- 
teriously, heaven.  That  fine  passage  also  in  Gen- 
esis, ^^  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light," 
which  is,  according  to  the  letter,  corporeal  light, 
signifies  allegorically,  the  Messiah  ;  morally, 
grace,  and  mysteriously,  beatitude,  or  the  light  of 
glory.  Mysticism  is  not  confined  to  any  partic- 
ular profession  of  Christianity,  but  is  to  be  under- 
stood as  generally  applied  to  those  who  dwell  up- 
on the  invoard  operations  of  the  mind  (sueh  as  the 
Quakers,  &c.)  laying  little  or  no  stress  on  the 
outward  ceremonies  of  religion.^ 


STVEDENBORGUNS. 

THE   SWEDENBORGIANS  are  the  followers  of 
Emannuel  Swedeborg,  a  Swedish  nobleman,  who 


*  The  two  following  sects  are  occa.sionally  mentioned  in 
conversation,  and  the  autlior  has  been  asked  by  young  people^ 
more  than  once  for  an  explanation  of  them.  A  short  account 
therefore  is  h^re  subjoined. 


248  SWEDENBORGIANS. 

died  in  London,  1772.  He  professed  himself  to 
be  the  founder  (under  the  Lord)  of  the  Netv  Je- 
rusalem Churchy  alluding  to  the  New  Jerusaleni 
spoken  of  in  the  Book  of  the  Revelation  of  St. 
John.  His  tenets,  although  peculiarly  distinct 
from  every  other  S3'stem  of  divinity  in  Christen- 
dom, are  nevertheless  drav\^n  from  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  supported  by  quotations  from 
them.      He  asserts,  that  in  the  year   1743,  the 


The  I^i/t/^  Monarchy  Men  were  a  set  of  enthusiasts  in  the 
time  of  Cromwell,  who  expected  the  sudden  appearance  of 
Christ  to  establish  on  earth  a  new  monarchy^  or  kingdom.  In 
consequence  of  tliis  allusion  some  of  them  aimed  at  the  sub- 
version of  all  human  government.  In  ancient  history  we  read 
of  four  great  monarcliies,  the  Assyrian,  the  Persian,  the 
Grecian,  and  the  Roman  :  and  these  men  believing  that  this 
new  spiritual  kingdom  of  Clirist  was  to  be  the  fifths  came  to 
bear  the  name  by  which  they  are  distinguished.  See  Burnet's 
History  of  liis  own  Times,  where  the  reader  will  find  a  particu- 
lar account  of  them.  The  Muggletonians  were  the  followers 
of  Ludovic  Muggleton,  a  journeyman  taylor,  who  with  his 
companion,  Reeves,  (a  person  of  equal  obscurity)  set  up  for 
Prophets,  in  the  turbu'ent  times  of  Cromwell.  They  pretended 
to  absolve  or  condemn  whom  they  pleased,  and  gave  out  that 
they  were  the  two  last  witnesses  spoken  of  in  the  Revelations 
who  were  to  appear  previous  to  the  final  destruction  of  the 
world.  r>r.  Gregory,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History  remarks, 
'that  the  Aluggletonians,  UchreuaUists,  Lihbadists,  Verschorists^ 
&c.  who  derive  their  nameirom  their  respective  founders  were 
mere  ephemeral  productions.  Indeed  they  just  appeared  and 
tlien  passed  away  ! 


SWEDENBORGIANS.  249 

Lord  manifested  himself  to  him  in  a  personal  ap- 
pearance ;  and  at  the  same  time  opened  his  spir- 
itual eyes,  so  that  he  was  enabled  constantly  to 
see  and  converse  with  spirits  and  angels.* 
From  that  time  he  began  to  print  and  publish 
various  wonderful  things,  which,  he  says,  were 
revealed  to  him,  relating  to  heaven  and  hell, 
the  state  of  man  after  death,  the  worship  of  God, 
the  spiritual  sense  of  the  scriptures,  the  various 
earths  in  the  universe,  and  their  inhabitants,  with 
many  other  extraordinary  particulars,  the  knowl-  - 
edge  of  which  was,  perhaps,  never  pretended  to 
by  any  other  wn'iter,  before  or  since  his  time. 
He  denies  a  Trinity  of  persons  in  the  Godhead, 
but  contends  for    a   divine   Trinity  in  the  single 


*  Iferon  Swedenborg,  in  his  treatise  concerning  heaven  and 
hell^  and  of  the  wonderful  things  therein,  as  heard  and  seen  by 
him,  makes  the  following  declaration.  "As  often  as  I  con- 
versed with  angels  face  to  face,  it  was  in  their  habitationa» ' 
which  are  like  to  our  houses  on  earth,  but  far  more  beautiful 
and  magnificent,  having  rooms,  chambers,  and  apa;  tme«ts  in 
great  variety,  as  also  spacious  courts  belonging  to  them,  to- 
gether with  the  gardens,  parterres  of  flowers,  &c.  where 
the  angels  are  formed  into  societies.  They  dwell  in  contigu- 
ous habitations,  disposed  after  the  manner  of  our  cities, 
in  streets,  walks,  and  squares.  I  have  had  the  privilege  to 
walk  through  them,  to  examine  all  around  about  me,  and  to 
enter  their  houses,  and  this  when  I  was  fully  awake,  having  my 
inward  eyes  opened."  A  similar  description  is  given  of 
hearven  itself,  but  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  treatise  whence 
this  curious  extract  is  taken. 


250  SWEDENBORGIANS* 

person  of  Jesus  Christ  alone,  consisting  of  a  Fath- 
er, Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  just  like  the  human 
Trinity  in  every  individual  man,  of  soul,  body,  and 
proceeding  operation  :  and  he  asserts,  that  as  the 
latter  Trinity  constitutes  one  man,  so  the  former 
Trinity  constitutes  one  Jehovah  God,  who  is  at 
once  the  Creator,  Redeemer,  and  Regenerator. 
On  this  and  other  subjects,  Dr,  Priestly  addressed 
letters  to  the  members  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
Churchy  to  which  several  replies  were  made,  and 
particularly  one  by  Mr.  R.  Hindmarsh,  a  printer. 
Baron  Swedenborg  further  maintains  that  the 
sacred  scripture  contains  three  distinct  senses, 
called  celestial,  spiritual,  and  natural,  which 
are  united  by  correspondencies  ;  and  that  in  each 
sense  it  is  divine  truth,  accommodated  respect- 
ively to  the  angels  of  the  three  heavens,  and  also 
to  men  on  earth.  This  science  of  correspondr 
encies  (it  is  said)  had  been  lost  for  some  thou- 
sand of  3'ears,  viz.  ever  since  the  time  of  Job, 
but  is  now  revived  by  Emanuel  Swedenborg, 
who  uses  it  as  a  key  to  the  spiritual  or  internal 
sense  of  the  sacred  scripture,  every  page  of  which, 
he  says,  is  written  by  correspondencies,  that  is, 
by  such  things  in  the  natural  world  as  correspond 
unto  and  signify  things  in  the  spiritual  world* 
He  denies  the  doctrine  of  atonement,  or  vicarious 
sacrifice,  together  with  the  doctrines  of  predesti- 


SWEDENBORGIANS.  251 

nation,  unconditional  election^  justification  by  faith 
alone,  the  resurrection  of  the  material  body,  &c. 
and  in  opposition  thereto  maintains,  that  man  is 
possessed  of  free-will  in  spiritual  things  ;  that  sal- 
vation is  not  attainable  without  repentance,  that 
is,  abstaining  from  evils  because  they  are  sins 
against  God,  and  living  a  life  of  charity  and  faith, 
according  to  the  commandments  ;  that  man,  im- 
mediately on  his  decease,  rises  again  in  a  spiritual 
body,  which  was  inclosed  in  his  material  body, 
and  that  in  this  spiritual  body  he  lives  as  a  man 
to  eternity,  either  in  heaven  or  hell,  according 
to  the  quality  of  his  past  life. 

It  is  further  maintained  by  Baron  Swedenborg, 
and  his  followers,  that  all  those  passages  in  the 
sacred  scripture,  generally  supposed  to  signify  the 
destruction  of  the  world  by  fire,  &c.  commonly 
called  the  last  judgment,  must  be  understood  ac- 
cording to  the  above-mentioned  science  of  cor- 
respondencies, which  teaches,  that  by  the  end  of 
the  world,  or  consummation  of  the  age,  is  not 
signified  the  destruction  of  the  w^orld,  but  the 
destruction  or  end  of  the  present  Christian 
church,  both  among  Roman  Catholics  and  Pro- 
testants of  every  description  or  denomination  ; 
and  that  the  last  judgment  actually  took  place 
in  the  spiritual  w^orld  in  the  year  1757  ;  from 
which  9era  is  dated  the  second  advent  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  commencement  of  a  new  Christian 


252  SWEDENBORGIANS. 

church,  which,  they  say,  is  meant  by  the  new 
heaven  and  new  earth  in  the  Revelation,  and  the 
New  Jerusalem  thence  descending. 

Such  are  the  outlines  of  Baron  Swedenborg's 
principal  doctrines,  collected  from  his  voluminous 
writings.  His  followers  are  numerous  in  England, 
Germany,  Sweden,  &c.  and  also  in  America. 
They  use  a  liturgy,  and  instrumental,  as  well  as 
vocal  music,  in  their  public  worship.*  Mr.  Proud, 
formerly  a  General  Baptist  minister,  is  at  present 
the  most  popular  preacher  among  them.  He  used 
to  officiate  at  their  Chapel  in  Hatton  Garden,  but 
now  preaches  in  the  vicinity  of  St.  James'  Square. 
Their  ministers  have  a  particular  dress  both  for 
praying  and  preaching,  so  that  they  may  be  said 
to  study  variety. 

We  shall  close  our  list  of  DENOMINATIONS 
with  an  account  of  that  discriminating  article  of 
belief,  which  refers  to  the  Jinal  triiwiphs  of 
Christianity,  Its  advocates  are  not  indeed  a  sect 
distinct  from  others,  but  their  tenets  prevails  in  a 
less  or  greater  degree  throughout  almost  every 
department  of  the  religious  world. 


*  Almost   the  whole  of  the   above  account  was  sent   to  the 
author  for  insertion  by  a  gentleman  of  that  denomination. 


I 


MILLENARIANS.  253^ 

MILLENJRIJNS. 

THE  MiLLENARiANS  are  those  who  believe 
that  Christ  will  reign  personally  on  earth  for  a 
thousand  years,  and  their  name,  taken  from  the 
Latin,  milley  a  thousand,  has  a  direct  allusion  to 
the  duration  of  this  spiritual  empire,  "  The  doc- 
trine of  the  Millenium,  or  a  future  paradisaical 
state  of  the  earth,  (says  a  monthly  review)  is  not 
of  Christian  but  of  Jewish  origin.  The  tradition 
is  attributed  to  Elijah,  which  fixes  the  duration  of 
the  world  in  its  present  imperfect  condition  to  six 
thousand  years,  and  announces  the  approach  of  a 
sabbath  of  a  thousand  years  of  universal  peace  and 
plenty,  to  be  ushered  in  by  the  glorious  advent  of 
the  Messiah  !  This  idea  may  be  traced  in  the  epis- 
tle of  Barnabas,  and  in  the  opinions  of  Papias, 
who  knew  of  no  written  testimony  in  its  behalf. 
It  was  adopted  by  the  author  of  the  revelations, 
by  Justin  Martyr,  by  Iraenus,  and  by  a  long  suc- 
cession of  the  fathers.  As  the  theory  is  animat- 
ing and  consolatory,  and,  when  divested  of  cabal- 
istic numbers  and  allegorical  decorations,  probable 
even  in  the  eye  of  philosophy,  it  will  no  doubt  al- 
ways retain  a  number  of  adherents.''^ 

*  It  is  somewhat  remarkable,   that  Druidism,  the  religion  of 
tlie first  inliabitants  of  tliis  island,  had  a  particular  reference  t<; 
V 


254  MILLENARIANS. 


But  as  the  Millenium  has  of  late  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  public,  we  shall  enter  into  a 
short  detail  of  it. 

Mr.  Joseph  Mede,  Dr.  Gill,  Bishop  Newton, 
and  Mr.  Winchester,  contend  for  the  personal 
reign  of  Christ  on  earth.  To  use  that  prelate's 
own  words,  in  his  Dissertations  on  the  Prophe- 
cies— ^^  When  these  great  events  shall  come  to 
pass,  of  which  we  collect  from  the  prophecies, 
this  to  be  the  proper  order  ;  the  Protestant  wit- 
nesses shall  be  greatly  exalted,  and  the  1260 
years  of  their  prophecying  in  sackcloth,  and  of 
the  tyranny  of  the  beast,  shall  end  together  ;  the 
conversion  and  restoration  of  the  Jews  succeed  ; 
then  follows  the  ruin  of  the  Othman  empire  ; 
and  then  the  total  destruction  of  Rome  and  of 
Antichrist.  When  these  great  events,  I  say, 
shall  come  to  pass,  then  shall  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  commence,  or  the  reign  of  the  saints  upon 
t'^arth.  So  Daiiiel  expressly  informs  us,  that  the 
kingdom   of  Christ  and   the   saints  will  be  raised 

<he  progi'cssive  melioration  of  the  hiunan  species.  A  notion  of 
a  Milienium  seems  to  have  been  faniiliar  to  their  minds,  and 
therefore  forms  a  striking  coincidence  with  Cliristianity.  The 
tenets  of  Druidism  (which  also  include  the  doctrine  of  universal 
restoration)  are  far  from  being  extinct  in  the  principality.  See 
a  curious  and  interesting  sketch  of  the  system  of  Druidism,  in 
seme  ingenious  Poems,  by  Edward  Williams,  the  Widish  BarJy 
"*n  two  volumes. 


MILLENARTANS.  255 

upon  the  ruins  of  the  kingdom  of  Antichrist,  7. 
26,  27.  But  the  judgment  shall  sif,  and  they 
shall  take  azi'ay  his  dominion  to  consume  and 
to  destroy  it  unto  the  end  :  and  the  kingdom 
and  dominion^  and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom 
under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  he  given  to  the 
people  of  the  saints  of  the  most  High,  whose 
kingdom  is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  all 
dominion  shall  serve  and  obey  him.  So  hke* 
wise  St,  John  saith,  that  upon  the  final  de- 
struction of  the  beast  and  the  false  prophet^ 
Rev.  XX.  Satan  is  bound  for  a  thousand  years  ; 
and  I  saw  thrones,  and  they  sat  upon  them,  and 
judgment  was  given  unto  them  ;  and  I  saw  the 
souls  of  them  that  were  beheaded  for  the  imtness 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  for  the  word  of  God  ;  which 
had  not  xvorshipped  the  beast,  neither  his  image  ; 
neither  has  received  the  mark  upon  their  fore- 
heads or  in  their  hands,  and  they  lived  and 
reigned  tvith  Christ  a  THOUSAND  years.  But 
the  rest  of  the  dead  lived  not  again  until  the 
thousand  years  were  finished.  This  is  the  first 
resurrection.  It  is,  I  conceive,  to  these  great 
events  the  fall  of  Antichrist,  the  re-establishment 
of  the  Jews,  and  the  beginning  of  the  glorious 
MILLENIUM,  that  the  three  different  dates  in 
Daniel  of  1260  years,  1290  years,  and  1335 
years,  are  to  be   referred.     And  as  Daniel  saith. 


256  MILLENARIANS. 


xii.  12.  Blessed  is  he  that  waiteth  and  cometh 
the  1335  years.  So  St.  John  saith,  xx.  6.  Bless- 
ed and  holy  is  he  that  hath  part  in  thejirst  res- 
urrection. Blessed  and  happy  indeed  will  be 
this  period  ;  and  it  is  very  observable,  that  the 
inartyrs  and  confessors  of  Jesus,  in  Papist  as  well 
as  Pagan  times,  will  be  raised  to  partake  of  this 
felicity.  Then  shall  all  those  gracious  promises 
in  the  Old  Testament  be  fulfilled — of  the  am- 
plitude and  extent — of  the  peace  and  prosperity — 
cf  the  glory  and  happiness  of  the  church  in  the 
latter  days.  Then,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  words. 
Rev.  xi.  15.  Shall  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord^  and  of  his 
Christy  and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever. 
According  to  tradition,*  these  thousand  years  of 
the  reign  of  Christ  and  the  saints,  will  be  the 
seventh  Millenary  of  the  world  ;  for  as  God 
created  the  world  in  six  days,  and  rested  on  the 
seventh,  so  the  world,  it  is  argued,  will  continue " 
six  thousand  years,  and  the  seventh  thousand,  \\\\\ 
be  the  great  Sabbatism  or  holy  rest  to  the  people 
of  God.  One  day  (2  Pet.  iii.  8.)  being  with 
the  Lord,  as  a  thousand  years  and  a  thousand 
years  as  one  day.  According  to  tradition  too, 
these  thousand  years  of  the  reign  of  Christ  and 

*  See  BuJnet's  Theory. 


I 


MILLENARIANS-  257 

the  saints,  are  the  great  day  of  judgment,  in  the 
morning  or  beginning  whereof,  shall  be  the  com- 
ing of  Christ  in  flaming  fire,  and  the  particular 
judgment  of  Antichrist  and  the  first  resurrection  ; 
and  in  the  evening  or  conclusion  whereof,  shall 
be  the  GENERAL  RESURRECTION  of  the  dead, 
small  and  great  ;  and  they  shall  be  judged 
every  man  according  to  their  works,^^^ 

This  is  a  just  representatian  of  the  Millenium^ 
according  to  the  common  opinion  entertained  of 
it,  that  Christ  will  reign  personally  on  earth 
during  the  period  of  one  thousand  years  !  But 
Dr.  Whitby,  in  a  Dissertation  on  the  subject  / 
Dr.  Priestljj^  in  his  Institutes  of  Religion,  and 
the  author  of  the  Illustrations  of  Prophecy^ 
contend  against  the  literal  interpretation  of  the 
Millenium,  both  as  to  its  nature  and  its  duration. 
On  such  a  topic,  however,  we  cannot  suggest 
our  opinions  with  too  great  a  degree  of  modesty. 

*  Mr.  Winchester,  in  his  Lecture:  on  the  Prophecies^  freely 
sndulg^es  his  imagination  on  tliis  curious  subject.  He  suggests, 
that  the  large  rivers  in  America  are  all  on  the  eastern  side  ^ 
that  the  Jews  may  waft  themselves  the  more  eas'iiy  down  to 
the  Atlantic,  and  then  cross  that  vast  ocean  to  the  Holy  Land  , 
tliat  Christ  will  appear  at  the  equinoxes  (eisher  March  or  Sep- 
fember)  when  tlie  days  and  nights  are  equal  all  over  the  globe  4 
md  finally,  that  the  body  of  Christ  will  be  luminous,  and  being 
;>uspended  in  the  air  over  tlie  equator,  for  twenty-four  hoctrsj 
will  be  seen  ^mX\\  circumstances  of  peculiar  gior/^  frdm  pol^  t& 
pole,  by  all  x\\n  inhabitants  of  the  world  ! 
Y2 


258  MILLENARIANS- 

Dr.  Priestly  (entertaining  an  exalted  idea  of  the 
advantages  to  which  our  nature  may  be  destined) 
treats  the  limitation  of  the  duration  of  the  world 
to  seven  thousand  years,  as  a  Rabbinical  fable  ; 
and  intimates  that  the  thousand  years  may  be  in- 
terpreted prophetically  ;  then  every  day  would 
signify  a  year,  and  the  Millenium  would  last  for 
three  hundred  and  sixty-Jive  thousand  years  \ 
Again  he  supposes  that  there  will  be  no  resurrec- 
tion of  any  individuals  till  the  general  resurrec- 
tion ;  and  that  the  Millenium  implies  only  the 
revival  of  religion.  This  opinion  is  indeed  to  be 
found  in  his  Institutes,  published  many  years  ago, 
but  latterly  he  has  inclined  to  the  per^nal  reign 
of  Christ.  See  his  Farewell  Sermon,  preached 
at  Hackne)^,  previous  to  his  emigration  to  Amer- 
ica. The  same  conjecture  as  to  its  duration  is 
thrown  out  by  the  author  of  the  Illustrations  of 
Prophecy ;  but  he  contends  that  in  the  period 
commonly  called  the  Millenium,  a  melio»ration  of 
the  human  race  will  gradual!}''  take  place,  by 
natural  means,  throughout  the  world.  For  his 
reasons,  we  refer  to  the  work  itself,  where  will 
be  found  an  animated  sketch  of  that  period,  when 
an  end  shall  be  put  to  many  of  the  crimes  and 
calamities  now  prevalent  on  the  globe  ! 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Bicheno,  of  Newbury,  likewise, 
has    in   his    late    publications    thrown  out    some 


MILLENARIANS«  25^ 

curious  particulars  respecting  the  Millenium y  and 
though  the  reader  may  not  agree  with  him  in 
many  things,  yet  he  will  applaud  his  ingenuity. 
We  will  just  add  that  the  late  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Scarlett^  at  the  time  of  his  decease  was  preparing 
for  the  press  a  piece  on  the  Millenium,  entitled 
the  Millenial  AgCy  which  was  to  contain  all  the 
passages  of  scripture  relating  to  the  subject — ac- 
companied with  several  admirabl}'-  executed  plates, 
by  way  of  illustration.  But  his  death  prevents  its 
publication. 

This  final  article  of  the  Millenium,  shall  be 
closed  w^ith  one  observation.  However  the  Mil- 
lenarians  ^^y  differ  among  themselves  respect- 
ing the  nature  of  this  great  event,  it  is  agreed  on 
all  hands,  that  such  a  revolution  will  be  effected 
in  the  latter  days,  by  which  vice  and  its  attend- 
ant misery  shall  be  banished  from  the  earth ;  thiis 
completely  forgetting  all  those  dissent  ions  and  an- 
imosities by  which  the  religious  world  has  been 
agitated,  and  terminating  the  gran^  drama  of 
providence  with  UNIVERSAL  FELICITY.* 


*  The  professors  of  Christianity  have  inslHnted' Societies  ioe 
tlie  advancement  of  religion.  Tliere  are  four  which  deserves 
to  be  mentioned  :  1.  The  Society  for  promoting  Christian  Knonvl- 
edge^  which  erects  charity  fchools  in  England  and  Wales,  and 
distribute*?  Bibles,  Comnaon  Prayer  Books^  and  rebgious  tracts.. 


260  MILLENARIANS. 

THESE  are  the  divisions  of  human  opinions, 
which  characterize  the  more  popular  departments 
of  the  religious  world,  I  have  endeavored  to 
delineate  them  with  acuracy  and  brevity.  Each 
system,  boasts  of  admirers,  and  professes  to  have 
its  peculiar  arguments  and  tendencies.  To  a 
thoughtful  mind  they  exhibit  a  melancholy  pic- 
ture of  the  human  understanding,  misguided 
through  passion,,  and  warped  with  prejudice.  In 
drawing  out  the  motley  catalogue,  several  cur- 
sory reflections  arose  in  my  mind.  A  few  only, 
such  as  may  operate  as  a  persuasive  to  religious 
moderation,  and  tend  also  to  the  improvement  of 
other  Christian  graces,  shall  be  submit^  to  the 
reader^s  attention* 

2.  T^e  Incorporated  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts^  which  takes  care  that  the  West  India  islands 
and  the  British  colonies  in  North  America  are  provided  with 
episcopal  clergj-men  and  schoolmasters  ;  3.  A  Society  in  Scot- 
land  for  propagating  Christian  Knonukdge,  designed  to  banish 
ignorance  and  prpfaneness  from  the  Highlands  and  Western 
Islands  ;  and,  4.  A  Society  established  in  Ireland  called  The  In" 
corporated  Society  in  Dublin  for  promoting  English  Protestant 
Working  Schools. 

Mr.  Daniel  Neal,  about  60  year*  ago,  estimated  the  number 
of  Dissenters  in  England  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
families  ;  but  since  that  period  it  is^  believed  that  they  have 
decUned.  At  present  the  proportion  of  Nonconformists  to  the 
Atembers  of  the  Church  of  England  is  supposed  to  be  as  one  to 
jrve  ;  and  it  is  singular  that  the  saine  proportion  holds  between 
the  Episcopalians  aSKi  Roman  Catholics  in  Ireland. 


REFLECTIONS.* 


I  pray  God  to  give  all  his  ministers  and  people  more  and  more 
of  the  Spirit  of  Wisdom  and  of  love^  and  of  a  sound  mind^  and 
to  remove  far  from  us  tliose  mutual  jealousies  and  animosities 
which  liinder  our  acting  with  that  unanimity  which  is  neces- 
sary to  the  successful  carrying  on  of  our  common  nvarfare  against 
the  enemies  of  Christianity. 

Doddridge"* s  Rise  and  Progress  of  Religion* 


1,  SINCE  the  best  and  wisest  of  mankind 
thus  differ  on  the  speculative  tenets  of  religion, 
let  us  modestly  estimate  the  extent  of  the  human 
faculties. 


*  As  the  author  has  in  the  Sequel,  to  this  Sketch,  brought  to- 
gether the  testimonies  of  Divines  of  the  Church  of  Eni?;land,  the 
Kirk  of  Scotland,  and  from  amongst  the  Dissenters,  in  behalf 
of  candor  and  charity,  so  with  these  reflections  he  lias  inter- 
woven the  sentiments  of  some  of  the  most  distinguislied  of  the 
Laity  on  the  subject.  The  declarations  oi  £>e  Thou,  Lord 
hyttleton.  Lord  Chatham,  together  with  those  of  Locke,  Mans- 
field,  and  Washingtom,  are  entitled  to  particular  attention.  See 
a  Humhle  Attempt  to  promote  Union  and  Peace  among  Christians^ 
ly  inculcating  the  principles  of  Christsan  Liberty.  By  R. 
Wright,  of  Wisbeach.  It  is  a  work  of  merit,  and  happily 
calculated  to  promote  the  purpose  for  wliichit  has  been  written 
and  published. 


262  REFLECTIONS. 


A  modest  estimate  of  the  human  faculties  is  an 
irresistible  inducement  to  moderation.  After 
laborious  investigations,  probably  with  equal  de- 
grees of  knowledge  and  integrity,  men  arrive 
at  opposite  conclusions.  This  is  a  necessary 
consequence  of  imperfection.  Human  reason, 
weak  and  fallible,  soars  with  feeble,  and  of- 
ten with  ineffectual  wing,  into  the  regions  of 
speculation.  Let  none  affirm  that  this  mode 
of  argument  begets  an  indifference  to  the  acqui- 
sition and  propagation  of  religious  truth.  To 
declare  that  all  tenets  are  alike,  is  an  aiTront  to  the 
understanding.  The  chilling  hesitation  of  scep- 
ticism, the  forbidding  sternness  of  bigotry,  and 
the  delirious  fever  of  enthusiasm,  are  equally 
abhorrent  from  the  genius  of  true  Christianity. 
Truth  being  the  conformity  of  our  conceptions 
to  the  nature  of  things,  we  should  be  careful  lest 
our  conceptions  be  tinctured  with  error.  Philos- 
ophers suppose  that  the  sense  convey  the  most 
determinate  species  of  information  :  yet  these 
senses  notwitlistanding  their  acuteness,  are  not 
ended  with  an  instinctive  infallibility.  How 
much  greater  cause  have  we  to  mistrust  the  ex- 
ercise of  our  rational  powers,  w-hich  often  from 
early  infancy  are  beset  with  prejudices ! 

Our  reason,  however,  proves  of  essential  use 
to  us,  in  ascertaining  the  nature  of  truths  andi 
the  degrees  of  evidence  with  which  they  are-  se- 


REFLECTIONS.  263 

verally  attended.  This  necessarily  induces  a 
modesty  of  temper,  which  may  be  fitly  pro- 
nounced the  ground-work  of  charity.  Richard 
Baxter,  revered  for  his  good  sense  as  well  as 
fervent  piety,  has  these  remarkable  expressions 
on  the  subject — ^^  I  am  not  so  foolish  as  to  pre- 
tend my  certainty  to  be  greater  than  it  is,  merely 
because  it  is  a  dishonour  to  be  less  certain  ;  nor 
will  I  by  shame  be  kept  from  confessing  those 
infirmities  which  those  have  as  much  as  I,  who 
hypocritically  reproach  me  with  them.  My  cer- 
tainty that  I  am  a  man,  is  before  my  certainty 
that  there  is  a  God  ;  my  certainty  that  there  is  a 
God,  is  greater  than  my  certainty  that  he  re- 
quireth  love  and  holiness  of  his  creature  ;  my 
certainty  of  this,  is  greater  than  my  certainty  of 
the  life  of  reward  and  punishment  hereafter  ;  my 
certainty  of  that  is  greater  than  my  certainty  of 
the  endless  duration  of  it,  and  the  immortality 
of  individual  souls  ;  my  certain!}^  of  the  Deity, 
is  greater  than  my  certainty  of  the  Christian 
faith,  my  certainty  of  the  Christian  faith  in  its 
essentials,  is  greater  than  my  certainty  of  the 
perfection  and  infallibility  of  all  the  holy  scrip- 
tures ;  my  certainty  of  that  is  greater  than  my 
certainty  of  the  meaning  of  any  particular  texts, 
and  so  of  the  truth  of  many  particular  doctrines, 
or  of  the  canonicalness  of  some  certain  books. 
So  that  you  see  by    what  gradations   my   under- 


264  REFLECTIONS. 


Standing  doth  proceed,  so  also  that  my  certainty 
differethy  as  the  evidence  differ.  And  they  that 
have  attained  to  a  greater  perfection  and  a  higher 
degree  of  certainty  than  I,  should  pity  me,  and 
produce  their  evidence  to  help  me."  This  para- 
graph ought  to  be  written  in  letters  of  gold.  It 
were,  indeed  to  be  wished,  that  this  accurate 
statement  of  the  nature  and  degrees  of  belief  were 
duly  impressed  on  the  mind  of  every  Christian  ; 
to  the  want  of  it  must  be  ascribed  the  prevalence 
of  an  ignorant  and  besotted  bigotry. 

Reason,  though  imperfect,  is  the  noblest  gift  of 
God,  and  upon  no  pretence  must  it  be  decried.  It 
distinguishes  man  from  the  wild  beasts  of  the  field 
—constitutes  his  resemblance  to  the  Deity,  and 
elevates  him  to  the  superiority  he  possesses  over 
this  lower  creation.  By  Deists  it  is  extolled,  to 
the  prejudice  of  revelation ;  and  by  Enthusiasts 
depreciated,  that  they  might  the  more  effectually 
impose  on  their  votaries  the  absurdities  of  their 
systems.  Yet,  strange  inconsistency  !  even  these 
enthusiasts  condescend  to  employ  this  calumniated 
faculty  in  pointing  out  the  conformity  of  their  ten- 
ets to  scripture,  and  in  fabricating  evidence  for 
their  support.  But  beware  of  speaking  lighty  of 
reason,  which  is  emphatically  denominated  the 
eye  of  the  soul  !  Every  opprobrious  epithet  v/ith 
which  the  thoughtless  or  the  designing  dare  to 
etigmatize  it,  vilifies  the  creator.      Circumscribed, 


REFLECTIONS.  265 


indeed,  are  its  operations,  and  fallible  are  its  deci- 
sions. That  it  is  incompetent  to  investigate  cer- 
tain subjects  which  our  curiosity  may  essay  to  pen- 
etrate, is  universally  acknowledged.  Its  exten- 
sion, therefore,  beyond  its  assigned  boundaries, 
has  proved  an  ample  source  of  error.  Thus 
Mr.  Colliber,  an  ingenious  writer,  imagines 
in  his  treatise,  entitled.  The  Knowledge  of  God, 
that  the  Deity  must  have  some  form,  and  inti- 
mates it  may  probably  be  spherical !  !  Indeed 
it  has  generated  an  endless  list  of  paradoxes, 
and  given  birth  to  those  monstrous  systems  of 
metaphysical  theology,  which  are  the  plague  of 
wise  men,  and  the  idol  of  fools.  Upon  many 
religious  topics,  which  have  tried  and  tortured  our 
understandings,  the  sacred  writers  are  respect- 
fully silent.  Where  they  cease  to  inform  us  we 
should  drop  our  enquires;  except  we  claim 
superior  degrees  of  information,  and  proudly 
deem  ourselves  more  competent  to  decide  on  these 
intricate  subjects. 

The  primitive  Christians,  in  some  of  their 
councils,  elevated  the  New  Testament  on  a 
throne — thus  intimating  their  concern,  that  by 
that  volume  alone  their  disputes  should  be  finally 
determined.  The  great  president,  De  Thou,  re- 
marks "  that  the  sword  of  the  word  of  God  ought 
to  be  the  sole  weapon — and  those  who  are  no 
longer  to  be  compelled  should  be  quietly  attracted 
w 


266  REFLECTIONS. 


by   moderate    considerations  and     amicable    dis- 
cussions. 

2.  The  diversity  of  religious  opinions  implies 
no  reflection  upon  the  sufficiency  of  scripture  to 
instruct  us  in  matters  of  faith  and  practice,  and 
should  not,  therefore,  be  made  a  pretence  for 
uncharitableness. 

Controversies  are  frequently  agitated  concern- 
ing words  rather  than  things.  This  is  to  be 
ascribed  chiefly  to  the  ambiguity  of  language, 
which  has  been  a  fertile  source  of  ecclesiastical 
animosities.  But  there  is  not  in  the  world  such 
a  multitude  of  opinions  as  superficial  observers 
may  imagine.  A  common  gazer  at  the  starry 
firmament  conceives  the  stars  to  be  innumerable  : 
but  the  astronomer  knows  their  number  to  be 
limited — nay,  to  be  much  smaller  than  a  vulgar 
eye  would  apprehend.  On  the  subjects  of  reli- 
gion, many  men  dream  rather  than  think — im- 
agine rather  than  believe.  Were  the  intellect  of 
every  individual  awake,  and  preserved  in  vigor- 
pus  exercise,  similarity  of  sentiment  w^ould  be 
much  more  prevalent.  But  mankind  will  not 
think,  and  hence  thinking  has  been  deemed 
^^  one  of  the  least  exerted  privileges  of  cultivated 
humanity."  It  unfortunately  happens  that  the 
idle  flights  indulged  by  enthusiasts — the  burden- 
some rites  revered  by  the  -superstitious — and  the 
^.orrupt  maxiiiis  adopted  b}^   worldly-minded  pro- 


RKFLirctlONS.  267 


lessors,  are  charged  on  the  scriptures  of  truthr 
Whereas  the  msph'ed  volume  is  fraught  with  ra- 
tional doctrines — equitable  precepts^ — and  immac- 
ulate rules  of  conduct.  Fanciful  accommoda- 
tions— distorted  passages^ — false  translations — and 
forced  analogies,  have  been  the  despicable  means 
employed  to  debase  the  Christian  doctrine. 
A  calm  and  impartial  investigation  of  the  word 
of  God  raises  in  our  minds  conceptions  worthy 
the  perfections  of  Deity — suitable  to  the  circum- 
stances of  mankind,  and  adapted  to  purify  and 
exalt  our  nature  : 

Religion's  lustre  is  by  native  innocence, 

Divinely  pure  and  simple  from  all  arts  ; 

You  daub  and  dress  her  like  a  common  mistress— 

The  harlot  of  your  fancies  !  and  by  adding 

False  beauties,  which  she  wants  not,  make  the   world 

Suspect  her  angel  face  is  foul  beneath, 

And  will  not  bear  all  lights  ! 

The  papists  deprive  their  laity  of  the  scrip- 
ture, by  restraining  its  use,  and  denying  its 
sufficiency.  The  same  reason  also  was  as- 
signed to  vindicate  the  necessity  of  an  infallible 
head  to  dictate  in  religious  matters.  Notwith- 
standing these  devices  to  produce  unanimity  of 
sentiment,  they  were  not  more  in  profession  of 
it  than  the  Protestants.  The  sects,-  which  at 
different  periods  sprang  up  in  the  bosom,  and 
disturbed  the  tranquility  of  the    Catholic  church^^^ 


268  REFLECTIONS, 


are  proofs  that  they  failed  to  attain  the  desired 
object.  Pretences,  therefore,  however  goodly, 
iihould  be  rej^ted,  if  they  tend  to  invalidate 
the  suflficiency,  or  disparage  the  excellence 
of  holy  writ.  Least  of  all  should  diversity 
of  senthTient  be  alledged,  for  it  does  not  orig- 
inate in  the  scriptures  themselves,  but  in  the 
imbecility  of  the  understanding — in  the  freedom 
of  the  will — in  the  pride  of  passion — and  in  the 
inveteracy  of  prejudice.  Deists,  nevertheless,  who 
are  expert  in  observing  what  may  be  construed 
iato  an  objection  against  revealed  religion, 
declaim  loudly  on  this  topic.  On  account  of 
the  diversity  of  sentiment  which  obtains,  they 
charge  the  Bible  with  being  defective  in  a  species 
of  intelligence  it  never  pretended  to  communicate. 
Unincumbered  with  human  additions,  and  un- 
contaminated  with  foreign  mixtures,  it  furnishes 
the  believer  with  that  information  which  illu- 
minates the  understanding — meliorates  the  temper 
—-invigorates  the  moral  feelings,  and  improves 
the  heart.  All  scriptwe  given  by  inspiration, 
is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  cor- 
rection, for  instruction  in  righteousness,  that 
the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly 
furnished  unto  all  good  works.  ^^  Heaven  and 
Hell  are  not  more  distant  (says  Lord  Lyttleton,) 
^han  the  benevolent  spirit  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
malignant  spirit  of  party.     The  most  impious  wars 


REFLECTIONS.  269 


ever  made  were  called  holy  wars.  He  who  hates 
another  man  for  not  being  a  christian  is  himself 
not  a  christian.  Christianity  breathes  love  and 
peace  and  good  will  to  men. 

3.  Let  not  any  one  presume  to  exempt  himself 
from  an  attention  to  religion,  because  some  of 
its  tenets  seem  involved  in  difficulties. 

Upon  articles  which  promote  the  felicity,  and 
secure  the  salvation  of  mankind,  the  scripture 
is  clear  and  decisive.  The  curiosity  of  the 
inquisitive,  and  the  restlessness  of  the  ingenious, 
have  involved  some  subjects  of  theological  dis- 
quisition in  obscurity.  Dr  Paley,  speaking 
of  the  disputes  which  distract  the  religious  world, 
happily  remarks,  "  that  the  rent  has  not  reached 
the  foundation.'^  Incontrovertible  are  the  facts 
upon  which  the  fabric  of  natural  and  revealed 
religion  is  reared ;  and  the  gates  of  hell  shall 
not  prevail  against  it  !  He  who  seriously  and 
dispassionate^  searches  the  scriptures,  must  con- 
fess that  they  tea-ch,  in  explicit  terms,  that  God 
rules  over  all — that  man  is  fallen  from  his  prime- 
val rectitude — that  the  Messiah  shed  his  blood  for 
his  restoration — and  that  in  a  future  state  rewards 
await  the  righteous,  and  punishments  will  be 
inflicted  on  the  wicked. 

From  the  preceding  sketch  of  the  diiferent 
opinions  of  Christians,  it  appears  that  contro- 
'ersies  have  been  chiefly  agiteited  concerning  the 
W  2 


270  REFLECTIONS. 


person  of  Christ — the  subject  of  the  divine 
favour — and  the  article  of  church  government. 
But  what  was  the  specific  matter  of  disputation  ? 
Not  whether  Christ  has  actually  appeared  on 
earth  to  introduce  a  new  dispensation  ;  nor  whe- 
ther God  is  disposed  to  shew  grace  or  favour 
towards  fallen  man  ;  nor  whether  the  professors 
of  religion  ought  to  submit  themselves  to  certain 
regulations,  or  church  government,  for  mutual 
benefit.  These  are  truths  revered  b}^  every  de- 
nomination, and  the  only  point  of  contention  has 
been,  w^hat  particular  views  are  to  be  entertained 
of  these  interesting  facts.  Tiie  Trinitarian,  the 
Arian,  and  the  Socinian,  equally  acknowledge 
the  divinity  of  Christ's  mission,  or  that  he  w^as 
the  Messiah  predicted  by  the  ancient  prophets  ; 
and  the  chief  point  of  dispute  is,  whether  this 
Messiah  be  a  man  highly  inspired — or  one  of 
the  angelic  order — or  a  being  possessed  of  the 
attributes  of  Deity.  The  Calvinist,  the  Armi- 
nian,  and  the  Baxterian  also,  each  of  them  firmly 
Relieves  that  the  grace  of  God  hath  appeared, 
and  differ  only  respecting  the  wideness  of  its 
extent,  and  the  mode  of  its  communication.  Sim- 
ilar observations  might  be  transferred  to  the 
subject  of  church  government,  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  ceremonies.  But  sufficient  has  been 
said  to  shew  that    the   differences    subsisthig    be- 


REFLECTIONS.  271 


tween  Christians  do  not  affect  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity, nor  hazard  the  salvation  of  mankind. 

Faint  indeed  is  the  light  thrown  by  revelation 
on  certain  subjects.  Yet  no  lover  of  righteous- 
ness need  distress  himself,  whether  he  be  mistaken 
in  leading  a  life  of  virtue  and  piety.  Practical 
religion  lies  within  a  narrow  compass.  The  say- 
ings of  Christ  embrace  almost  every  part  of 
human  conduct,  though  his  disciples  have  been 
fementabJy  deficient  in  paying  them  a  proper  at- 
tention. Jesus  Christ  assures  us,  that  to  love 
the  Lord  our  God  with  all  our  hearts,  is  the 
Jirst  and  great  commandment — and  that  the 
second  is  like  unto  it — to  love  our  neighbour  as 
ourselves.  They  entertain  mistaken  views  of  the 
glorious  gospel,  who  consider  it  inimical  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  human  race.  Descending  from 
a  God  of  love,  and  presented  to  us  by  his 
only  begotten  Son — every  mind  should  have 
opened  for  its  reception.  Wrangling  should 
have  been  prevented  by  the  clearness  of  its  fun- 
damental doctrines,  hesitation  about  obedience 
precluded  by  the  justice  of  its  precepts,  and  the 
beauty  of  its  examples  should  have  captivated  the 
most  indifferent  hearers. 

Tlie  perplexity  in  which  some  religious  tenets 
are  involved,  instead  of  alienating  us  from  the 
practice     of  righteousness,     should   quicken  our 


272  REFLECTIONff. 


enquiries  after  truth.  Indeed,  upon  a  serious 
and  intelligent  individual,  it  produces  this  effect* 
Having  in  his  eye  the  scripture  as  the  only 
standard^  he  is  the  more  alive  to  free  enquiry^ 
when  he  contemplates  the  diversity  of  religious 
systems ;  and  more  accurately  scrutinizes  their 
nature,  examines  their  foundations,  and  ascertains 
their  tendencies.  This  mode  of  arriving  at  truth, 
is  attended  with  advantages.  Our  knowledge 
is  enlarged — our  candour  established — and  our 
belief  founded  on  the  basis  of  conviction.  Such 
a  believer  reflects  an  honour  upon  the  denomina- 
tion with  which  he  connects  himself.  For  feel- 
ing the  difRculties  of  religious  investigation,  he 
presumes  not  to  charge  with  heresy  those  of  his 
fellow  Christians  who  differ  from  him  ;  nor  is 
he  such  a  stranger  to  the  perfections  of  the 
Deity,  and  to  the  benign  spirit  of  his  religion,^ 
as  to  consign  them  over  to  the  regions  of  future 
miser}'".  Of  Mr.  Gouge,  an  eminent  Noncon- 
formist minister,  it  is  thus  honorably  recorded 
by  the  great  and  good  Aixhbishop  Tilictson — 
*^  He  allowed  others  to  differ  from  him  even  in 
opinions  tiiat  w^ere  very  dear  to  him,  and  pro- 
-vrided  men  did  but /ear  Gody  and  xvork  righte- 
Gusness,  he  loved  them  heartily,  how  distant  so- 
ever from  him  in  judgment  about  things  less 
aecessary  ^  in  all  which  he  is  very  worthy  to  be 
3t  patterEt  to-  meu  of  alt  persuasions."      And  Lord 


REFLECTIONS.  273 


Chatham  has  observed — "  It  is  said  that  religious 
sects  have  done  great  mischief,  when  they  were 
not  kept  under  restraint ;  but  history  affords  no 
proof  that  sects  have  ever  been  mischievous,  when 
they  were  not  oppressed  and  persecuted  by  the 
ruhng  church.^' 

4.  Let  us  reflect  with  pleasure  in  how  many 
important  articles  of  belief  all  Christians  are 
agreed. 

Respecting  the  origin  of  evil,  the  nature  of 
the  human  soul,  the  existence  of  an  intermediate 
state,  and  the  duration  of  future  punishment  to- 
gether with  points  of  a  similar  kind,  opinions 
have  been,  and  in  this  imperfect  state  will  ever 
contiuue  to  be  different.  But  on  articles  of  faith, 
far  more  interesting  in  themselves,  and  far  more 
conducive  to  our  welfare,  are  not  all  Christians 
united !  We  all  believe  in  the  perfections  and 
government  of  one  God — in  the  degradation  of 
human  nature  through  transgression — in  the  un- 
speakable utility  of  the  life,  death,  and  sufferings 
of  Jesus  Christ — in  the  assurance  of  the  divine 
aid — in  the  necessity  of  exercising  repentance, 
and  of  cultivating  holiness — in  a  resurrection  from 
the  dead — and  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishment.  Cheerfully  would  I  enter  into  a 
minute  illustration  of  this  part  of  the  subject  ; 
but  the  devout  and  intelligent  Dr.  Price  has  dis- 
cussed it,  in   his   first   sermon  on  the    Christian 


274  REFLECTIONS. 


Doctrine,  to  which  Discoure  I  refer  the  reader,, 
and  recommend  it  to  his  repeated  perusal.  Many 
Christians  are  more  anxious  to  know  wherein 
their  brethren  differ  from  them,  than  wherein 
they  are  agreed.  This  betraj^s  a  propensity  to 
division,  and  bears  an  unfavourable  aspect  on 
mutual  forbearance,  one  of  the  highest  embel- 
lishments of  the  Christian  character.  An  enlight- 
ened zeal  is  compatible  with  religious  modera- 
tion, \vhich  is  more  particularly  opposed  to  the 
furious  spirit  of  uncharitableness,  the  gangrene 
of  genuine  Christianity.  From  the  shy  and  dis- 
tant deportment  of  men  of  different  persuasions 
towards  each  other,  a  stranger  to  them  all, 
would  with  difficulty  be  brougiU  to  believe  that 
they  looked  up  to  the  same  God — confided  in  n.e 
same  saviour — and  were  bending  their  steps  lo- 
wards  the  sa?7ie  state  of  future  happiness.  To 
me,  often  has  the  Christian  world  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  subdued  country _^  portioned  out  into 
innumerable  districts,,  through  the  pride  and 
ambition  of  its  conquerors,  and  each  district  oc- 
cupied in  retarding  each  other^s  prosperity.  Alas  ! 
what  would  the  Prince  oj  Peace  say,  were  he 
to  descend  and  sojourn  among  us  !.  Would  he 
not  reprove  our  unhallowed  w^armth — upbraid 
us  with  our  divisions — chide  our  unsocial  tempers 
— and  exhort  to  amity  and  concord  ?  "  This 
antipathy  to  your   fellow   Christiansj^"  would  he 


REFLECTIONS-  275 


say,  "  is  not  the  effect  of  my  religion,  but  pro- 
ceeds from  the  want  of  it.  My  doctrines,  pre- 
cepts, and  example,  have  an  opposite  tendency. 
Had  you  learned  of  me,  you  would  have  never 
uttered  against  your  brethren  terms  of  reproach, 
nor  lifted  up  the  arm  of  persecution.  The  new 
commandment  I  gave  unto  you  w^as — That  you 
love  one  another,'*^ 

The  ingenious  Mr.  Seed  (a  clergyman)  ob- 
serves, ^^  Our  own  particular  darling  tenets,  by 
which  we  are  distinguished  from  the  bulk  of 
Christians,  we  look  upon  as  our  private  inclo- 
sures,  our  private  walks,  in  which  w^e  have  pro- 
perty exclusive  of  others,  and  which  we  take  care 
to  cultivate,  beautify,  and  fence  in  against  all 
invaders.  To  the  received  notions,  however  im- 
portanty  we  are  more  indifferent,  as  the  common 
field  and  public  walks,  which  lie  open  to  every 
body.''  Were  the  professors  of  the  Gospel  once 
fully  sensible  how  they  coincide  on  the  funda- 
mental facts  of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  they 
w^ould  cherish  with  each  other  a  more  friendly 
intercourse,  unite  more  cordially  to  propagate 
religion  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  a  superior 
degree  of  success  would  crown  their  combined 
exertions  for  the  purpose.  Much  is  it  regretted 
that  disputes  have  generally  been  agitated  con- 
cerning unessential  points,  and  with  an  acrimony 
diametrically    opposite   to    the    Gospel  of  Jesus 


276  REFLECTIONS. 


Christ.  That  controversy  is  in  itself  injurious 
to  truth,  no  intelligent  individual  will  insinuate. 
When  conducted  with  ability  and  candor,  light 
has  been  struck  out,  errors  have  been  rectified, 
and  information,  on  interesting  subjects,  has  been 
communicated  to  the  public.  But  alas  !  contro- 
A'ersy  has  been  perverted  to  evil  purposes.  To 
many  who  have  engaged  in  theological  discussion, 
victor}^,  not  truth,  apppears  to  have  been  the  ob- 
ject of  pursuit.  Seduced  by  unworthy  motives, 
they  swerved  from  the  line  of  conduct  prescribed 
by  an  apostle,  and  contended  boisterously  rather 
t\i2in  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints.  Fiery  controversialists,  hurried  away 
by  impetuousness  of  temper,  or  exasperated  by 
the  opposition  of  an  a,cute  and  pertinacious  adver- 
sary, have  disgraced  the  polemic  page  by  oppro- 
brious terms  and  ungenerous  insinuations.  Thus 
are  infidels  furnished  with  an  additional  objection 
to  revealed  religion — the  investigation  of  interest- 
ing truth  terminates  in  mutual  reproaches  ;  and 
Christians  of  different  sentiments,  driven  still 
farther  from  each  other,  are  the  less  fitted  to 
associate  together  in  the  common  mansions  of 
the  blest !  To  this  pernicious  mode  of  agitating 
disputes^  there,  are,  however,  exceptions  ;  and  in- 
stances of  this  kind  might  be  adduced.  In  the  de- 
fence of  Christianit}^,  and  in  the  support  of  its  par- 
ticular doctrines,  writers  have  stood  forth,  whose 


REFLECTIONS.  277 

temper  and  liberality  breathe  the  genuine  spirit  of 
the  Christian  Religion.  Doddridge's  Letters  to  the 
Author  of  Christiauity  not  founded  in  argument. 
Bishop  Watson^s  Reply  to  Gibbon,  and  Camp- 
bell's Answer  to  Hume  on  Miracles,  are  ex- 
amples of  the  candour  with  which  religious 
controversies  should  be  invariably  conducted.  In 
an  enlightened  age  like  the  present,  this  concili- 
ating spirit  was  to  be  expected  ;  and  we  indulge 
the  pleasing  hope,  that  times  still  more  auspicious 
to  truth  are  approaching,  when  the  amicable  dis- 
cussion of  every  doctrine  supposed  to  be  contain- 
ed in  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  shall  obtain  an 
universal  prevalence  : 

Seize  upon  truth  where'er  'tis  found, 
Among  your  friends — among  your  foes. 

On  Christian  or  on  Heathen  ground, 
The  flower's  di-vine  where'er  it  grows, 
Neglect  the  prickles  and  assume  the  rose. 

Watts* 

^^  No  way  whatsoever,^'  says  the  immmortal 
Locke,  "  that  I  shall  w^alk  in  against  the  dictates 
of  my  conscience,  will  ever  bring  me  to  the 
mansions  of  the  blessed,  I  may  grow  rich 
by  an  art  that  I  take  no  delight  in — I  may  be 
cured  of  some  disease  by  remedies  I  have  no  faith 
in,  but  I  cannot  be  saved  by  a  religion  that  I  dis- 
trust, and  a  worship  that  I  abhor.  It  is  in  vain  for 
an  unbeliever  to  take  up  the  outward  shadow  of 
X 


278  REFLECTIONS. 


auQther  man's  profession  ;  faith  only  and  inward 
jsincerity  are  the  things  that  procure  acceptance 
with  God.'> 

Truth,  indeed,  moral  and  divine,  flourishes 
only  in  the  soil  of  freedom.  There  it  shoots  up 
jand  sheds  its  fruits  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 
Civil  and  religious  liberty  are  two  of  the  greatest 
earthly  blessings  which  heaven  can  bestow  on 
nian.  Thrice  happy  are  the  people  who  experi- 
ence the  benefits  of  good  government,  unburden- 
ed by  the  impositions  of  oppression,  and  who  en- 
joy the  sweets  of  liberty,  unembittered  by  anar- 
chy and  licentiousness. 

5.  We  should  allow  to  others  the  same  right 
of  private  judgment  in  religious  matters,  wliich 
we  eiaim  and  exercise  ourselves. 

It  is  replied — ^^  We  forbid  not  the  sober  use 
of  this  privilege.'^  But  who  can  estimate  the 
sobriety  of  another  man's  speculations  ?  and  by 
reprobating  the  opinions  which  a  serious  brother 
Hiay  happen  to  entertain  in  consequence  of  free 
investigation,  we  tacitly  condemn  that  operation 
of  his  mind  which  induced  him  to  take  up  such 
tenets.  This  is  the  spirit  of  Popery  in  disguise. 
-Cautjousiy  €xer<iising  his  reason,  and  devoutly 
examining  the  sacred  records,  let  every  man  be 
fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.  This  was 
^he  advice  of  Paul  to  the  primitive  Christians, 
£.rA   no   ^id)stant^l   reason    has   been,   or   ever 


REFLECTIONSa  27& 


will  be  given  for  its  being  abandoned.  For  a- 
Protestant,  who  demands  and  exercises  the  rights 
of  private  judgment,  to  deny  it  to  fiis  brother^  ig^ 
an  unpardonable  inconsistency*  It  is  also  an  a<it 
of  injustice,  and,  therefore,  contrary  to  rea^oHj, 
condemned  by  revelation,  and  prejudicial  to  the 
best  interests  of  mankind.  He  w^ho  insults  your 
person,  steals  your  property,  or  injures  your  repu-- 
tation,  subjects  himself  to  the  punishment  whicia 
the  law  denounces  against  such  offences.  What 
then  can  we  think  of  the  man  who  attempts  t^-^ 
rob  you  of  the  right  of  private  judgment--a^ 
jewel  of  inestimable  price — a  blessing  of  the  first 
magnitude  !  Were  we  once  to  relinquish  think- 
ing for  ourselves^  and  indolently  to  acquiesce  in 
the  representations  of  others,  our  understandings 
might  soon  groan  beneath  the  absurdities  of  other 
men's  creeds,  and  our  attention  be  distracted  by 
the  perplexed  nature  of  our  religious  services^- 
Hitherto,  persons  have  never  been  wanting  un- 
reasonable enough  to  impose  on  their  brethren 
articles  of  faith.  The  late  Mr.  Robinson,-  of 
Cambridge,  an  avowed  foe  to  ecclesiastical  tyran- 
ny, has  traced  its  sources  with  his  usual  acuteness, 
and  pronounces  them  to  be  power — law — patron- 
age— office — the  abuse  of  learning,  and  mistaken 
piety.  These  pretences  for  domination  over  con*-^ 
science  are  plausible,  and  by  their  speciousness 
millions  have  been  deceived.      But  explain   to  a 


2TO  REFLECTIONS. 


man  of  common  sense  the  nature  and  foundation 
•f  religious  liberty,  and  the  infatuation  cease?. 
He  must  perceive  that  the  Father  of  spirits  hath 
authorized  no  man  to  dictate  to  another  what 
he  is  to  believe — much  less  to  impose  his  dogmas 
Cinder  pain  of  eternal  punishment : 

Let  Caesar's  dues  be  ever  paid, 

To  Caesar  and  his  tlirone  ; 
But  consciences  and  soufs  were  made, 

To  be  the  Lord's  alone. 

Watts. 

To  use  the  language  of  the  illustrious  Wash- 
ington — ^^  It  affords  edifying  prospects  indeed  to 
see  Christians  of  different  denominations,  dwell 
together  in  more  charity,  and  conduct  themselves 
in  respect  to  each  other  with  a  more  Christian 
like  spirit,  than  ever  they  have  done  in  any  for- 
mer age  !" 

Tfhy  even  of  yourselves  judge  ye  not  what 
is  right  ?  was  the  language  in  which  Christ 
reproached  the  Pharisees  ;  and  j>rove  all  things 
was  Paul's  exhortation  to  the  church  at  Thes- 
salonica.  These  passages  alone  prove,  be- 
yond the  possibility  of  dispute,  that  both 
Christ  and  Paul  were  patrons  of  free  en- 
quiry. Free  enquiry,  even  in  its  fullest  ex- 
tent, has  been  found  serviceable  to  the  interests 
of  religion.      Hereby  error   ceases    to  be  perpet 


REFLECTIONS.  281 

uatecl,  and  truth  emerges  from  those  shades  of 
darkness  with  which  she  has  been  enveloped 
by  the  artful  and  designing.  Survey  the 
page  of  ecclesiastical  history — mark  the  in- 
tervals of  languor,  when  the  right  of  private 
judgment  lay  dormant — then  was  the  church  of 
Christ  debilitated  and  pestered  with  an  heteroge- 
neous mass  of  errors.  Excellently  is  it  remarked 
m  a  periodical  publication — *'  No  man  can  write 
down  truth.  Inquiry  is  to  truth  w^hat  friction  is 
to  the  diamond.  It  proves  its  hardness — adds  to 
its  lustre — and  excites  new  admiration."  The 
ablest  advocates  for  Christianity  confess,  that  by 
the  attacks  of  its  enemies  provoking  examination, 
it  has  been  benefited  rather  than  injured.  To  in- 
fidel writers  we  are  indebted  for  Butler's  profound 
Analogy. — Law's  Theory  of  Natural  and  Re- 
vealed Religion — Campbell's  Dissertation  on 
Miracles — Newton's  Work  on  the  Prophecies — 
Watson's  Apology  for  the  Bible — and  other  per- 
formances, which  reflect  as  much  honour  on  the 
names  of  their  respective  authors,  as  they  have 
rendered  service  to  the  cause  they  espoused. 
<^  Every  species  of  intolerance,"  says  Arch- 
deacon Paley,  ^^  which  enjoins  suppression 
and  silence,  and  every  species  of  persecution 
which  inforces  such  injunctions,  is  averse  to  the 
progress  of  truth,  forasmuch  as  it  causes  that  to 
be  fixed  by  one  set  of  men  at  one  time,  which  is 
X  2 


282  REFLECTIONS, 


much  better,  and  with  much  more  probability 
of  success,  left  to  the  independent  and  progressive 
enquiries  of  separate  individuals.  Truth  results 
from  discussion  a^id  from  controversy,  is  investi- 
gated by  the  labour  and  researches  of  private 
persons  ;  whatever  therefore  prohibits  these,  ob- 
structs that  industry  and  that  liberty,  which  it  is 
the  common  interest  of  mankind  to  promote." 

*^  6.  Let  us  be  careful  to  treat  those  who  differ 
from  us  with  kindnes." 

Believing  those  who  diifer  from  us  to  be 
the  disciples  of  error,  they  have  a  claim  on 
our  compassion.  And  as  a  further  incentive  to  a 
lenient  conduct,  it  should  be  remembered,  that 
we  differ  from  them  just  as  muck  as  they  do 
from  us.  By  either  party,  therefore,  no  anathe- 
ma should  be  hurled,  and  a  proneness  to  per- 
secution should  be  eradicated.  The  Quakers,  in 
their  address  to  James  the  Second,  on  his  ac- 
cession,4old  him,  that  they  understood  he  was  no 
more  of  the  established  religion  than  themselves  : 
^^  We  therefore  hope  (say  they)  that  thou  wilt 
allow  us  that  liberty  which  thou  takest  thyself.^ 
The  terms  schism  and  heresy  are  in  the  mouths 
of  many,  and  it  is  no  unfrequent  case  to  find  that 
those  who  use  them  most,  least  understand  theii 
real  import.  Dr.  Campbell  (who-  favoured 
the  public  with  an  excellent  translation  of  the 
Four  Gospels)  thus  concludes  a   learned: disserta^ 


REFLECTIONS-  28$ 


tion  on  the  subject :  ^*  No  person  (says  he)  who 
m  the  sphit  of  candour  and  charity  adheres  to 
that  which,  to  the  best  of  his  judgment  is  right, 
though  in  this  opinion  he  should  be  mistaken,  is 
in  the  scriptural  sense  either  schismatic  or  here- 
tic :  and  he,  on  the  contrary,,  whatever  sect  he 
belongs  to,  is  more  entitled  to  those  odious  ap- 
pellations who  is  most  apt  to  throw  the  imputa- 
tion upon  others.'^  Would  to  God,  that  this  ob- 
servation were  engraven  on  the  memory  of  every 
individual  in  Christendom  I"^ 

Upon  the  advantages  arising  from  Christian 
moderation  we  might  largely  expatiate,  and  to 
detail  the  evils  which  have  flown  from  an  unen- 
lightened and  furious  zeal,  would  be  t(i.st8in  mj'- 
page  with  blood.  Bishop  Hall,  in  the  last  centu- 
ry, wrote  a  treatise  on  moderation,  and  has  dis- 
cussed the  subject  with  that  eloquence  and  ability 


*  Having  had  the  honour  of  attending  the  lectures  both  q£ 
Tir,  Campbe/i  cind  T>r.  Gerard,  at  Aberdeen,  in  the  year  1790,, 
the  autlior  takes  this  opportunity  of  expressing  his  obligation- 
for  the  instruction  received  on  many  important  topics  ;  and; 
particularly  for  that  a7niabk  spirit  of  candour,  which  induced ' 
them  fairly  to  state  opposite  opinions,  and  never  to  discover: 
the  least  trait  of  uncharitableness,  which  is  the  disgrace 
of  Cliristianity,  The  Spanish  proverb  says,  ''  T.q  parents— tO: 
teachers — anditCL  Gos,  all  ^u^.dsniy^Tit  cs^nnot  iadiilg^.tc©.) niodii 
gratitude.? 


284  REFLECTIONS* 


which  are  peculiar  to  all  his  writings.  But  this 
great  and  good  man,  towards  the  close  of  the 
same  treatise,  forgetting  the  principles  which  he 
had  been  inculcating,  devotes  one  solitary  page 
to  the  cause  of  hitolerance.  This  page  he  con- 
cludes with  these  remarkable  expressions — "  Mas- 
ter Calvin  did  xvell  approve  himself  to  God's 
church,  in  bringing  Servetus  to  the  stake  at 
Geneva."  Blessed  Jesus !  how  art  thou  wound- 
ed in  the  house  of  thy  friends !  After  this  deplor- 
able instance  of  human  inconsistency,  should  not 
the  most  eminent  of  th}''  followers  bew^are,  lest, 
by  indulging  even  in  fhe  slightest  degree  a  spirit 
of  intolerance,  they  be  insensibly  led  either  to 
adopt  or  applaud  practices  which,  under  the  spe- 
cious mask  of  an  holy  zeal,  outrage  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  humanity  ?  To  love  our  oxvn  party  only^ 
is  (to  use  the  words  of  the  excellent  Dr.  Doddridge) 
nothing  else  than  self-love  reflected.  The  most 
zealous  partizans,  therefore,  are  revelling  in  self- 
gratification. 

Christian?,  indeed,  of  almost  every  denomi- 
nation, appear  at  times  to  have  forgotten,  that 
harshness  widens  rather  than  closes  the  breaches 
which  diversity  of  sentiment  may  have  occa- 
sioned. Coersive  measures  reach  not  the  mind, 
and  the  issuing  edicts  to  extort  assent  to  specu- 
lative tenets,  is  the  bombast  of   civil  authority. 


REFLECTIONS.  285 


Truth  rests  on  evidence.  But  what  has  evidence 
to  do  with  exertions  of  power,  implements  of 
torture,  and  scenes  of  devastation  ?  From  the 
commencement  of  the  fourth  century,  down  to 
that  illustrious  9era  of  the  reformation,  wide  and 
unmolested  w^as  the  empire  of  ignorance  over 
the  human  mind.  At  Rome,  for  a  series  of  age?, 
the  chair  of  infallibility  was  filled  by  a  suc- 
cession of  intolerant  and  domineering  Pon- 
tiifs.  Systems  of  cruelty  were  devised  and  prac- 
tised, for  the  support  of  their  most  holy  faith* 
Out  of  that  once  respectable  capital  of  the 
world,  the  demon  of  persecution  rushed  forth, 
brandished  his  torch,  and  deluged  the  church  of 
Christ  with  the  blood  of  her  martyrs.  Impa- 
tient for  the  destruction  of  the  human  race,  he 
flew  into  different  regions  of  the  earth,  framed 
racks,  fixed  stakes,  erected  gibbets,  and,  like  a 
pestilence,  scattered  around  him  consternation 
and  death  !  Shall  the  mild  and  evangelical  genius 
of  Protestantism  countenance  a  temper  which 
incites  to  such  execrable  deeds,  and  enrolls  the 
names  of  the  perpetrators  in  the  callendar  of  the 
saints  ?  In  this  twilight  state  of  being,  to  ex^ 
postulate  is  our  province,  to  inveigh  and  per- 
secute is  forbidden.  The  glorious  Gospel  of  the 
blessed  God  prohibits  rash  accusations,  cruel 
surmises,   and    malignant   anathemas*       Had  a 


286  REFLECTIONS. 


regard  been  paid  to  the  golden  rule.  Do  unto 
others  as  ye  zvould  they  should  do  unto  you, 
intolerance  would  never  have  reared  its  ensan- 
guined crest  to  affright  the  children  of  men.  Ye 
knoiv  not  what  maimer  of  spirit  ye  are  of — was 
our  Saviour's  reprimand  to  the  disciples,  who, 
in  the  plenitude  of  their  zeal,  would  have  called 
down  fire  from  heaven  to  consume  the  deluded 
Samaritans,  Too  often  does  a  portion  of  this 
accursed  spirit  reign  in  the  breasts  of  Protestants. 
Hence  cen-sures  are  poured  forth,  hatreds  are 
engendered,,  and  a  preparation*  for  heaven  is  re- 
tarded. Instead,  therefore,  of  usurping  the  seat 
of  judgment,  which  the  Almighty  has  exclu- 
sively reserved  to  himself,  and  of  aiming  to  be- 
come the  dispensers  of  the  divine  vengeance,  let 
us  wait  the  issue  of  all  things,  in  deep  and  rever- 
ential silence.  A  wise  and  a  good  God  will 
solemnly  decide  the  business,  when  he  judges 
the  world  in  righteousness  ! 

7.  Let  us  not  repine  because  perfect  unanimity 
of  religious  sentiment  is  unattainable  in  this  pre- 
sent state. 

A  repining  spirit  is  the  source  of  ill  temper  to- 
wards those  who  dissent  from  us  ;  but  it  seems  to 
be  the  intention  of  the  Divine  Being,-  that  we 
should  think  differently  concerning  certain  points, 
of  faith  and  practice.  Variety  marks  the  works 
^f  God.-    It  is  impressed   throughout  the    circum- 


REFLECTIONS.  287 


Terence  of  the  natural,  the  animal,  and  the  intel- 
lectural  world*  Above  us,  we  behold  the  dazzling 
brightness  of  the  sun^  the  pale  splendour  of  the 
moon,  the  mild  twinkling  of  the  stars,  and  the 
variegated  colours  which  adorn  the  firmament  of 
heaven  !  Around  us,  the  surface  of  the  earth  is 
diversified  into  a  thousand  beautiful  forms,  and 
in  the  animal,  the  vegetable,  and  the  fossil  king- 
doms, no  two  individual  productions  are  perfectly 
alike !  Within  us,  upon  the  slightest  €xamina- 
tion,  we  discern  our  minds  stamped  with  an  ori- 
ginal peculiarity.  From  sensekss  idiotism,  up 
to  the  sagacity  of  Newton,  how  numerous  ar-e 
the  gradations  of  intellect  !  Minds  are  of  various 
sizes-  Their  capacities,  habits,  and  views,  are 
never  in  strict  conformity  with  each  other.  In 
some  degree,  therefore,  diversity  of  opinion 
flows  from  the  structure  of  oiir  understanding. 
To  fall  out  with  this  branch  of  the  dispensations 
of  God  is  to  arraign  his  wisdom.  Doubtless  he 
might  have  shed  upon  us  such  a  degree  of 
light,  that  we  should  have  seen  as  with  one  eye, 
and  have  been  altogether  of  one  mind.  But 
the  Supreme  Being  has  otherwise  ordered  it  ; 
and  with  becoming  resignation  let  us  acquiesce 
in  the  propriety  of  the  appointment.  ^^  If  it  must 
be  with  us  (says  good  Bishop  Hall)  as  with  two 
famous  rivers  in  the  East,  that  they  run  three- 
'  core  miles  together   in  one  channel,  with   their 


2S8  REFLECTIONS. 


waters  divided  in  very  colour  from  each  other, 
yet  let  it  be  (as  it  is  with  them)  without  noise, 
without  violence."  And  in  modern  times  Lord 
Mansfield,  that  luminary  of  the  law  declares  that, 
*^  There  is  nothing  certainly  more  unreasonable, 
more  inconsistent  with  the  rights  of  human  na- 
ture, more  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  precepts  of 
the  Christian  religion,  more  iniquitous  and  unjust, 
more  impolitic  than  Per^ecwfzoTi  /  It  is  against 
natural  religion,  revealed  religion,  and  sound 
policy  !" 

Innumerable  and  unavailable  have  been  the  at- 
tempts made  in  the  successive  ages  of  the  church 
to  produce  unanimity  of  sentiment.  For  this 
purpose  legislatures  have  decreed  acts,  poured 
forth  torrents  of  blood,  and  perpetrated  (iee^s  at 
which  humanity  sickens,  shudders,  and  turns 
away  with  disgust.  Francis  the  First,  king  of 
France,  used  to  declare,  ^^  that  if  he  thought 
the  blood  in  his  arm  was  tainted  with  the  Lu- 
theran heresy,  he  would  have  it  cut  off,  and 
that  he  would  not  spare  even  his  own  chil- 
dren, if  they  entertained  sentiments  contrary  to 
the  Catholic  Church."  Pride  in  one  person,  pas- 
sion in  a  second,  prejudice  in  a  third,  and  in  a 
fourth  investigation,  generates  difference  of  opi- 
nion. Should  diversity  be  deemed  an  evil,  it  ig  •' 
incumbent  on  rational  beings,  and  congenial  with 
the  dignity   of  the   Christian   profession,  to   im- 


REFLECTIONS^  ^S9 


prove  it  to  valuable  purposes.  It  is  a  fact,  that 
different  denominations  have,  in  every  age  of  the 
church,  kept  a  jealous  eye  over  each  other  ;  and 
hereby  the  scriptures,  the  common  standard  t» 
which  they  appealed  for  the  truth  of  their  re- 
spective tenets,  have  been  preserved  in  greater 
purity.  It  may  also  be  added,  that  diversity  of 
opinion  quickens  our  enquiries  after  truth,  and 
gives  scope  for  the  exercise  of  our  charity,  which 
in  one  passage  of  the  sacred  writings  is  pro- 
nounced superior  to  faith  and  hope,  and  in  an- 
other passage  termed  the  bond  of  perfectncss* 
Much  improvement  have  good  men  extracted 
from  the  common  evils  of  life,  by  these  evils 
giving  rise  to  graces  and  virtues  which  other- 
wise, perhaps,  would  have  had  no  existence  ;  or 
at  least,  would  have  been  faintly  called  forth  into 
action.  To  perceive  the  justice  of  this  observa-^ 
tion,  it  is  not  necessary  that  we  be  profound  con- 
templators  of  human  affairs. 

Under  the  accumulated  difficulties  of  faith  and 
practice,  by  which  we  are  embarassed  in  this 
sublunary  state  of  imperfection,  we  should  medi- 
tate on  the  doctrine  of  a  providence,  which  ad- 
ministers the  richest  consolation.  The  dominion 
exercised  by  the  Supreme  Being  over  the  works 
of  his  hands,  is  neither  partial  as  to  its  objects^ 
narrow  in  its  extent,  nor  transitory  in  its  duration. 
Unlike  earthly  monarchs,  who  expire  in  their 
Y 


290  REFLECTIONS. 

turn,  and  who  are  successively  borne  into  the 
tombs  of  their  ancestors,  the  King  of  Saints 
liveth  and  reigneth  for  ever  and  ever  !  Evils 
indeed,  have  entered  the  world,  and  still  continue 
to  distress  it.  But  these  evils  have  not  crept  into 
the  system  unknown  to  its  great  Author  ;  and  the 
attributes  of  Deity  ensures  their  extirpation.  Our 
rejoicing  is — the  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth  ! 
Qlorious,  therefore,  must  be  the  termination  of 
the  divine  dispensations.  The  august  period  is 
predicted  in  sacred  writ,  and  lies  concealed  in 
the  womb  of  time.  Distant  may  be  its  arrival, 
but  its  blessings  once  realized,  will  compensate 
the  exercise  of  your  faith,  and  the  trial  of  your 
patience  : 

**  One  part,  one  little  part,  we  dimly  scan, 
Thro'  the  dark  medium  of  life's  fev'rish  dream. 
Yet  dare  arraign  the  whole  stupendous  plan, 
If  but  that  little  part  incongruous  seem  ; 
Nor  is  that  part  perhaps  what  mortals  deem  : 
Oft  from  apparent  ills  our  b'essings  rise — 
O  1  then  renounce  that  impious  self-esteem, 
That  aims  to  trace  the  secrets  of  the  skies  5 
For  thou  art  but  of  dust — be  humble  and  ^e  *wise.^* 

JBkattie. 

The  Dissertations  of  Dr.  Price  (especially  that 
on  Providence)  are  deserving  of  attention.  An 
elegant  little  work,  also,  entitled.  Intimations 
md  Evidences  of  a  Future  State,  by  T.  Watson^ 


1 


REFLECTIONS.  291 


cannot  fail  of  imparting  consolation  to  the  serious 
mind. 

Finally — penetrated  with  a  sense  of  the  im- 
perfection of  this  present  life,  let  us  be  cautious 
how  w^e  form  our  religious  sentiments,  w^atch 
unremittingly  over  our  tempers  and  conduct^ 
and  aspire  to  that  better  world,  where  pure  and 
wiadulterated  truth  shall  be  disclosed  to  our 
view ! 

Of  all  the  subjects  presented  to  the  human 
mind,  religion  claims  the  first  and  the  greatest 
attention.  If  there  be  a  God,  a  Providenee^  a 
'Saviour y  and  a  Future  State  of  Retribution^ 
these  weighty  truths  ought  to  be  pressing  upon 
our  minds,  and  presiding  over  our  conduct.  To 
famiharize  ourselves  with  their  evidences,  to  lay 
open  our  souls  to  their  energy,  and  prom.ote,  by 
every  honourable  method,  their  spread  and 
establishment  among  mankind,  should  be  our 
ambition.  Zeal  is  an  elevated  and  an  useful 
passion.  It  is  forcibl}^  and  repeatedly  enjoined 
in  the  sacred  waitings.  It  fornix  the  leading 
trait  of  excellence  in  the  best  and  most  enlight- 
ened characters.  Indeed,  an  individual  can 
scarcely  be  pronounced  truly  good,  except  he 
possesses  a  portion  of  this  celestial  fire.  But  let 
us  be  careful  that  our  w^armth  be  temperate 
and  regular.  Zeal,  confined  within  the  limits 
prescribed   by  reason  and  scripture,   is    attended 


292  REFLECTIONS. 


Avith  blessed     consequences.        Loosened     from 
these  restraints,  like   the  devouring  conflagration, 
it  involves     in    one     undistinguishable    ruin   the 
victims  of  its  fury,  and  triumphs  in  the   desolation 
it  has  effected.      How  different  is  the   Christian, 
influenced  by  a    zeal    purely    etwngelicaly   from 
the  monster  who  is  either  swolen  with  the  venom 
of  uncharitableness,  or  is   pregnant    with  persecu- 
tion for    conscience  sake  !       "  Mistake    me    not 
/(says  good    Richard  Baxter)    I   do  not   slight   or- 
I  thodoxyy  nor  jeer  at  the  name  ;  but  only   disclose 
i    the  pretences  of  devilish  zeal  in   pious  or   seem- 
\    ingly  pious  men.     The  slanders  of  some  of  these^ 
;    and   the    bitter   opprobrious    speeches    of   others, 
^^}?vp  more  effectually    done    the  Devil's  service, 
i     imder  the  name  of  orthodoxy  and  zeal  for   truths 
(    that  the    malignant  scorners  of  godliness."     Thus 
\   also   the  pious  Matthew    Henry     declares,  •  that 
[    of    all    the   Christian   graces — ZEAL   is     most 
\    apt  to  turn  sour.       And    Dr.    Doddridge,  in    his 
}     Family    Expositor^  has  this    remark — ^^  Wisely 
1     did    Christ   silence    the    suspicious  praises  of  an 
\     unclean  spirit ;  and  vain  is  all  the  hope,  which 
(      men  build  merely  on  those  orthodox  professions 
\     of  the  most  important   truths,    in  which  Satan 
]    himself   could  vie  with  them."      May  these   ob- 
/    servations  be  remembered  by  zealots  of  every  de- 
\_  scription  ! 

Indeed,  the  light   and  darkness  now  blende 


REFLECTIONS.  293 


together,  instead  of  generating  a  spirit  of  scepti- 
cism, or  precipitating  us  into  acts  of  violence, 
should  impel  us  to  look  for  the  nezv  heavens  and 
the  neiv  earthy  zvherein  dwelleth  righteousness. 
What  ye  know  not  now,  ye  shall  know  hereof- 
tevy  was  our  Saviour's  declaration  to  his  dis- 
ciples, respecting  an  ev*ent  which  occurred 
whilst  he  continued  to  sojourn  amongst  them. 
It  is,  therefore,  reasonable  to  believe  that  we 
shall  not  remain  ignorant  of  matters  of  superior 
importance,  when  the  proper  period  of  commu- 
nicating higher  degrees  of  information  arrives. 
We  may,  however,  be  assured,  that  the  Spirit 
of  God  guides  all  good  men  into  necessary 
truth.  This  is  a  sentiment  in  which  the  wisest 
of  mankind  concur ;  and  upon  which  learned 
divines,  after  their  most  penetrative  researches, 
are  obliged  ultimately  to  rest,  A  venerable  and 
distinguished  Christian  father  pronounced  the 
greatest  heresy  to  be  a  wicked  life,  Devoutl}^ 
is  it  wished  that  those  who  are  clamorous  about 
speculative  tenets^,  would  level  their  artillery 
more  against  the  violation  of  the  preceptive  part 
of  our  religion. 

The   eloquent     Saurin     pointedly     exclaims—    i 
"  Why  are  not  ecclesiastical  bodies  as  rigid  and 
severe  against   heresies  of  practice  as  they    are 
against  heresies  of  speculation  ?  Certainl}^  there   / 
are  heresies  in  morality  as   well  as    in  theology*  / 
Y2 


294  REFLECTIONS. 


Councils  and  synods  reduce  the  doctrines  of  faith 
to  certain  prepositional  points,  and   thunder    ana- 
themas against  all  who  refuse  to    subscribe   them. 
They  say,  cursed  be  he  who  doth  not   believe  the 
divinity  of  Christ  ;  cursed  be    he  who    doth  not 
believe  hypostatical  union,   and   the    mystery    of 
the  cross  ;  cursed  be  he  who  denies    the   inward 
operations  of  grace,  and  the    irresistible    efficacy 
j  of  the  Spirit.     I  wish   they    would   make   a  few 
/  ranons  against  moral  heresies.     How  many    are 
i    there  of  this    kind  among  our  people  !"      These 
\  observations  made  by  the   intelligent    Saurin,  re- 


applicable  to  the  Protestants  in  our  times.     Their 


.  specting  the  refugee  Protestants  in  Holland,  are 


'  anathemas  are  directed  more  against  error  than 
(1  against  unrighteousness.  Whereas  vice  is  the 
Hiore  formidable  enemy  to  the  welfare  of  mankind* 
To  the  word  of  God,  therefore,  let  us  have  con- 
stant recourse,  and  thence  derive  the  doctrine 
which  is.  according  to  godliness^  pure  as  the  light 
of  heaven  and  refreshing  as  the  dew  of  the  morn- 
ing !  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  justly  under- 
stood and  cordially  believed,  enlightens  the  mind 
— calms  the  troubled  conscience — rectifies  de- 
praved propensities — and  introduces  us  into  the 
habitation  of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
fjcrfect. 

But,  alas !    mankind,    instead    of   ascertaining 
^\hat  is  truth ^  and  hozv  it  can  best    exert  its   in- 


REFLECTIONS.  2P5 


fluence  over  the  several  departmejits  of  conduct^ 
are  occupied  in  schemes  of  interested   ambition, 
or  sunk  into  criminal  indifference.     Upon  death 
they  seldom  bestow  a   serious   thought.     Though 
awful  in  its   nature^   frequent   in  its   recurrence, 
and  alarming   in  its   consequences,   it   leaves   on 
their    minds   no   impression.      Without    emotion  - 
they  behold  their  fellow-creatures  snatched  f|pm 
off  the  busy  theatre  of  action,  and  driven,  one  af- 
ter another,  either    by    disease  or   accident,    into 
the  house  appointed  for  all   living  !    Upon   the 
decease    indeed    of    relatives    and    friends,    they 
heave  a  sigh,  utter  an  exclamation,   shed   a  tear, 
but  clothing  themselves  in   the   garments  of  sor- 
row, the  tragedy  is   quickly   over.     Re-assuming 
their  former  views,  and  laying   their  minds  open 
afresh  to  the  dominion    of  their  passions,   they 
return  with  avidity  to  the  occupations  and  amuse- 
ments of  life.     Thus  proceeds   the  tenor  of  their 
existence   on  earth,  till  they  also  are  swept  away 
into  the  receptacles  of  the    dead.     But   why  are 
men  thus  forgetful  of  their   destination  ?     Why 
iose   sight   of  the    end   for   which    their  benevo- 
lent  Creator   breathed   into    their    nostrils    the 
breath  of  life  ^     Why   not   be    making   diligent 
preparation   for   the    hour   of   dissolution,   W'hich 
closes  the  scene  of  their  activity,  and  terminates 
their  state  of  trial  ? 


296  REFLECTIONS. 


PilgrimeSy  and  sojourners  on  earthy  we  are 
hastening  to  an  eternal  world,  and  a  few  more 
fleeting  years  will  place  even  the  youngest  of  us 
before  the  tribunal  of  Heaven.  Whether  we 
can  abide  the  awful  scrutiny  which  shall  be  in- 
stituted at  the  last  great  day,  '^  for  which  all 
other  days  were  made,"  is  a  question  of  infinite 
importance,  and  intimately  concerns  rational 
and  accountable  creatures.  Amidst  the  din  of 
controversy,  and  the  jarrings  of  adverse  par- 
ties, the  opinions  of  the  head  are  often  substi- 
tuted for  the  virtues  of  the  heart,  and  thus  is 
practical  religion  deplorably  neglected.  Flee- 
ing, therefore,  those  pernicious  disputes,  which 
damp  our  devotion,  and  contract  our  benevo- 
lence, let  us  cultivate  the  means  by  which  our 
faith  may  be  invigorated,  our  hope  enlivened, 
our  charity  confirmed,  and  our  afl^ections  ele- 
vated to  the  things  tvhich  are  above,  xvhere 
Christ  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  God  / 
The  veil  now  thrown  over  the  preliminary 
state,  and  concealing  from  our  view  celestial 
objects,  shall  be  speedily  removed.  Then  bid- 
ding adieu  to  prejudices  which  darken  the 
understanding,  irritate  the  temper,  and  deform 
the  spirit,  we  shall  embrace  each  other  with 
perfect  love,  and  shall  be  astonished  at  ourselves 
for  having  been  on  earth  so  addicted  to  unprofit- 
able disputations^  and  so  backward  to  the  exercise 


REFLECTIONS.  2Q7 


of  brotherly  kindness,  and  of  Christian  charity. 
We  shall,  indeed,  be  ready  to  exclaim  in  the 
words  of  holy  Mr.  Baxter — ^^  Where  are  now  our 
different  judgments,  reproachful  names,  divided 
spirits,'' exasperated  passions,  strange  looks,  and 
uncharitable  censures  ?  Now  we  are  all  of  one 
judgment,  of  one  namcy  of  one  hearty  house , 
and  glory  !  O  sweet  reconciliation  ;  Happy  uni- 
on !  Now  the  Gospel  shall  no  more  be  dishonour- 
ed by  our  foll}^  !" 

Almighty  God  !  look  down  on  thine  erring 
creatures.  Pity  their  darkness  and  imperfection. 
Direct  them  into  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesits, 
Banish  from  their  hearts  the  bitterness  of  censure. 
Cherish  in  their  minds  a  spirit  of  moderation  and 
love  towards  their  fellow  Christians.  To  their 
zeal  add  knowledge,  and  to  their  knowledge 
charity.  Make  them  humble  under  the  difficult 
ties  which  adhere  to  their  faith,  and  patient  under 
the  perplexities  which  accompany  their  practice. 
Guide  them  by  thy  counsel,  and,  through  the 
mediation  of  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ,  receive  them 
into  thy  kingdom  and  glory. 

The  Work  shall  conclude  with  a  Recapitulatory 
Table,  drawn  up  with  a  view  of  impressing  its 
contents  on  the  minds  of  the  Rising  Generation. 


RECAPITULATORY  TABLE, 

SHEWING  AT  ONE  VIEW    THE    KAMES,    AKD    THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE 

KAMES,  BY  WHICH  THE  CHIEF  SECTS  IN  THE  CHRISTIAN 

WORLD  ^RE  DISTINGUISHED. 

CHRISTIANITY  U  a  Re-velation  from   God  hy  his   cfon  Jesus 

Christ — consists  oj  Doctrines,  Precepts,  Positii^e  I/istitutions,  Rc' 
nvarJs  and  Punishments — and  its  R'vidences  are  Prophecy,  Mira- 
cles., Internal  Character,  together  ivith  its  rapid  Propagation^  both 
among  Jeius  and  Gentiles. 

Its  Professors  hold  various  opinions,  and  are  thus  denominated : 

I. 

According  to  their  opinions  respecting  the  person  of  Christ, 

TRINITARIANS,  from  the  I-^tin  word  Trinitus,  which  de- 
notes a  threetold  unity  in  the  Godhead. 

SABELLIANS,  from  SabeU.us^  who  lived  in  the  third  centu- 
ry, and  held  a  modal  or  nominal  Trinity. 

ARIANS,  from  Arius,  a  popular  divine  of  Alexandria,  who 
flourished  about  the  year  315.  ^ 

SOCINIANS,  from  Faust  us  Socinus,  who  died  near  Cracow, 
in  Poland  about  the  year  1604. 

II. 

According  to  their  opinions  respecting  the  means  and  measure  of 
God"* 5  Faruor, 

CALVINISTS,  from  John  Cal-vin,  a  Reformer,  who  flourisli- 
cd  at  Geneva  about  1540. 

ARMINIANS,  from  James  Arminius,  the  disciple  of  Beza, 
who  flourished  about  1 600. 

BAXTERIANS,  from  Richard  Baxter,  an  eminent  Puritan, 
who  died  in  the  year  1 69 1 . 

ANTINOMIANS,  from  two  Greek  terms,  cc-jti  against,  and 
^o^to';  the  moral  L^w. 

III. 

According  to  tlieir  opinions  respecting   Church   Government  and 
the  Adminisrration  of  Ceremonies, 
PAPISTS,  from  the  Latin  word  for  Pope,  Papa,  signifying- 
a  Father,  or  Parent. 


RECAPITULATORY  TABLE.  299 


GREEK  CHURCH,  from  their  native  language, which  is 
the  Greek  tongue. 

PROTESTANTS,  from  their  protesting  against  a  decree  of 
Charles  the  Fifth,  1529. 

EPISCOPALIANS,  from  Episcopus,  tlie  Latin  term  for 
Bishop  or  Inspector,  of  a  Diocese. 

DISSENTERS,  from  the  Latin  word  dissent io,  to  disagree 
with,  or  dissent  from  any  Person  or  Body. 

PRESBYTERIANS,  from  the  Greek  Ufio-^vlipcc  signifying 
Elder,  Senior,  or  Presbyter. 

INDEPENDENTS,  from  the  independency  of  each  Church  in 
its  own  discipline  or  government. 

BAPTISTS,  from  the  Greuk  verb  Bx7rli:o  signifying  to  bap- 
tize, dip,  ur  immerse. 

Pj^DOBAPTlSTS,  from  the  Greek  Uoac  and  Bct7r'?A»  a  bap- 
tizer  of  infants. 

SCOTCH  CHURCH,  or  Kirk,  established  in  Scot/and,  by 
means  of  Jolm  Knox,  who  died  1572. 

SECEDERS,  from  the  Latin  secedo,  signifying  to  secede  or 
withdraw  oneself  from  any  Person  or  Body. 

MISCELLANEOUS  SECTS; 

CALLED, 

QUAKERS,  from  the  agitation  with  which  their  first  preach- 
ers addressed  their  auditors. 

METHODISTS,  from  the  Methodical  strictness  of  their 
religious  conduct. 

JUMPERS,  from  the  act  ^i  Jumping  used  in  their  religious 
services. 

MORAVIANS,  from  Moravia,  the  country  whence  they 
first  arose. 

UNIVERSALISES,  from  the  belief  that  all  men  will  be 
fnaily  happy. 

SANDEMANIANS,  from  Rolert  -Sj/tc^^wj;?,  a  popular  writer 
amongst  them. 

SABBATARL^NS,  from  their  observance  of  the  Jetviif: 
Sabbat hy  or  seventh  day. 


S^O  RECAPITULATORY  TABLE. 

-T 

■■'■■■  •  '  "■"     )  I  m-"**. 

HUTCHINSONIANS,  from  Jobn  Hutckimon,  born  in  York- 
shire, in  the  year  1772. 

MUGGLRTONIANS,  from  John  Muggleton,  who  lived  in 
the  days  of  Cromwell. 

MYSTICS,  from  uu(TTtKo^  a  Greek  word  importing  a  secret 
jnysterious  meaning. 

SWEDfiNBORGIANS,  from  Emanue!  Snvedenhorg,  who  died 
in  London,  in  the  year  1772. 

MILL KN ASIANS,  from  the  Latin  miUe^  a  thousand,  the 
years  of  Chnst's  future  reign  upon  earth. 

A    NEW    COMMANDMENT    GIVE   I  UNTO 
-^OU— .THAT  YE  JUUVE  ONE  ANOTHER. 

JESUS  CHRIST, 


THE   END. 


'^^'''m^^^:M0M 


^^■^^^^^ 


WOV  1 8  .007 


4^r 


